Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston: approximate, interest, friends)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Dr. Fauci is the world's leading expert on infectious diseases. I will take his opinon over yours any day, bud.

It’s the problem with the internet. Any crackpot can put up a YouTube clip claiming any whacky conspiracy theory and the people who lack capacity for critical thought give it equal weight to true subject matter experts. It’s really dangerous.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Now, I think it's entirely fair to debate the impacts to health and long term outcomes which an extended school/daycare closure would create. Reducing my average nights sleep down to 3-4 hours for months is certainly doing me few favors in terms of physical and mental health and for school aged children it is most certainly impacting their long term outcomes as it exacerbates the parental divide.

I’m trying to understand how having children at home constantly causes you to only get 3-4 hours of sleep? From content, this isn’t crying infants. I presume children sleep 10+ hours?

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by justyouraveragetenant

Did you watch the video of him saying we do not need to wear masks. this is coming from him. he flipped flopped on his opinion.

you missed the point.

So you’ve never gotten something wrong in your life, acknowledged it, and moved on?

With masks, my take is that they were trying to stop people hoarding vital PPE needed by health care workers. In a perfect universe, every person in the country would have a box of 100 N95 masks but those come from China and have been in short supply.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

It wasn’t that hard to find.

Up to now, the flu is considerably more deadly than Covid among children. We are approaching 100k deaths, so the incredibly low number of children’s deaths is likely meaningful and not just a fluke. Children don’t seem to get sick, or require hospitalization, or die at rates that would warrant schools remaining closed indefinitely. The likelier bigger concern is children spreading the disease. There is limited data, but one study I posted earlier (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...095-X/fulltext) suggests that closing just schools is unsupported by the evidence.

100%. I think closing schools was probably a mistake.

I really am struggling to understand why everyone here is only open to "bad news". I think I could probably make something up completely, describing some sinister and excruciating side effect of Covid 19 that only appears 3 months after you get it, and people here would respond very uncritically. Hey we just don't know enough, it could be true! No data! Your guess is as good as mine, as long as its apocalyptic.

A poster said earlier one thing is clear, it isnt the flu. Correct, where children are concerned, the flu is MUCH more dangerous by orders of magnitude. But for some reason, pure speculation, complete unwillingness to believe anything else, and crippling pessimism is more important than science.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

It's not the likelier bigger concern, it IS the bigger concern - Baker has been very transparent about this along with any other semi-competent leader. They do not want children becoming the primary vector of transmission, endangering both family members and staff.

Now, I think it's entirely fair to debate the impacts to health and long term outcomes which an extended school/daycare closure would create. Reducing my average nights sleep down to 3-4 hours for months is certainly doing me few favors in terms of physical and mental health and for school aged children it is most certainly impacting their long term outcomes as it exacerbates the parental divide.

I understand that's the idea, but there isn't a ton of evidence to support the idea that schools are the primary vector of transmission. And the evidence that I can find actually refutes the idea.. I know "abundance of caution" usually wins the day, but at some point you have to say the benefit of opening schools is worth the risk. I doubt we'll all agree on what that trade-off is, but at this point I think it's worth discussing the fact that there is a trade-off and that it should be assessed and dealt with.

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

But that article fails to recognize this - https://www.medpagetoday.com/infecti.../covid19/86393

Two deaths. Both are tragedies, but somewhere in this whole mess you've lost sight of the significance of extremely rare complications. An order of magnitude more kids have died from the flu.

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I’m trying to understand how having children at home constantly causes you to only get 3-4 hours of sleep? From content, this isn’t crying infants. I presume children sleep 10+ hours?

I don't know about him, but for me, having two kids that need near-constant supervision (4 + 6) combined with two parents who can still work full time jobs from home, there really aren't enough hours in the day.

[redplum33]

As I said nearly a thousand posts ago:

"There's a reason why schools were the first to close."

[redplum33]

Regarding PMIS (Pediatric Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome), it may be too early to determine if it is rare. It doesn't show the same signs that COVID shows in adults, and it may have been going undiagnosed. The CDC will be issuing a nationwide alert about PMIS.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I don't know about him, but for me, having two kids that need near-constant supervision (4 + 6) combined with two parents who can still work full time jobs from home, there really aren't enough hours in the day.

This. Then add general overhead such as yard/ house maintenance, animals, slow networks, etc. and time becomes an even scarcer commodity.

I’m sure some can maintain a degree of productivity with toddler wrapped around their leg, but I cannot. I’m trying to create IP for complex systems design and, for me, this best done in a distraction free environment where I can get long blocks of uninterrupted time. These days, that’s 9pm to 3am. Afternoon hours are reserved for zoom calls, emails, and other low value activities.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by redplum33

As I said nearly a thousand posts ago:

"There's a reason why schools were the first to close."

Yes. Everything is done for a reason.

The questions are about whether a) those were good reasons and b) if an additional 2 months has given us more perspective as to whether they are still good reasons and c) what are the conditions that would make it safe for schools to re-open and d) should those conditions be significantly different than other things?

https://www.economist.com/internatio...ens-inequality

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Regarding PMIS (Pediatric Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome), it may be too early to determine if it is rare. It doesn't show the same signs that COVID shows in adults, and it may have been going undiagnosed. The CDC will be issuing a nationwide alert about PMIS.

And what, people just didn't notice a bunch of kids dropping dead in all the other panic?

Here is the alert from NYS:

PMIS is a rare condition. However, because it is life-threatening, it is important that parents know the signs and
symptoms, so they can get help right away.

I'm not saying not to be concerned, but the main takeaway is that children presenting symptoms need immediate medical care. The risk needs to be balanced against the negative effects of keeping kids out of school. I think the risk of increased transmission is almost certainly greater than the risk of PMIS.