In short, kids and COVID look like they’re on a collision course — and that's been causing a lot of consternation among parents and policymakers. that their wards are overflowing with more sick children than ever — and warning that school could make matters worse.
Rivers’s message is clear: “We have seen that it is possible to have safe in-person learning,” she said. “We have not tried since Delta became established. But I think it’s possible too. We do need to use these mitigation measures, though. We cannot just open schools like it’s 2019 and expect that it will be as safe as it was last year.
Right. And then I would also say that even in highly vaccinated communities, schools should be considered a different category because they are where unvaccinated children come together. Ninety percent of the adults in your community could be vaccinated — but that’s not going to be true for the kids in your school.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that everything in life involves risk and that the risk to kids is quite low, so it’s not worth altering your life over. That argument seems to be at the root of a lot of the opposition to kids wearing masks, for example. But you’re saying that’s not how parents and policymakers should be thinking about it.
For instance, mask critics often say driving is more dangerous for kids than COVID. For most families, it's way too hard to keep their kids safe by never driving anywhere, so you have to do it. But it’s very easy to buckle their seatbelts. As far as the wider community, it depends on the intersection with vaccine coverage. In many places, people went back to normal activities because they’re vaccinated and are able to do so relatively safely. But in places where vaccination rates are low and there's a lot of virus circulating — like the South right now — the level of community transmission has a great deal of bearing on the risk that the virus will be introduced into the school building.
It’s nuanced. Many places in the U.S. and abroad have been able to reopen schools safely — with mitigation measures. And that part is key, right? There is a myth that schools are inherently safe. That’s not true. We make them safe. Some masks are better than others. The one that your kid will wear should be your first priority, because it’s the one you can control. Surgical masks are more protective than cloth masks, and I think those are better for younger kids. If you have an older kid who can tell you how they’re feeling about it, KN95 masks are both comfortable and protective.
Why not give parents the option to do remote or in person.
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