Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Dennis: health insurance, how much, to buy)

[wolfgang239]

How is eliminating hospitalization bad news?

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

How is eliminating hospitalization bad news?

Article says they aren't sure about the impact on hospitalizations.

[GeoffD]

I was just reading a Wall Street Journal OpEd
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj...ay-11612693803

“As vaccines raise hope, cold reality dawns. COVID-19 is likely here to stay”.

Going from pandemic to endemic. I figure I’ll be getting a booster every 6 to 12 months and the biotech companies will continue to do their magic tweaking their vaccines as it mutates. Israel hospitalization down 30%. Death data expected to track that. The preliminary data on AstraZeneca is that it reduces asymptomatic spread but it’s going to be months before we know if a vaccine passport would allow for resumption of international travel without a quarantine and multiple tests.

[sawyer2]

How do you think public schools will look in the fall?

- The Moderna vaccine trials for children 12-17 started in December, but enrolment is slow and it seems unlikely that there will be sufficient data to support vaccination of this sub-group before the start of the new school year.

- For the under 12s, there is even less information, with Moderna saying it 'doesn’t expect to have clinical trial data on its coronavirus vaccine in young children until 2022'
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/covi...this-year.html

Appreciating that children are lower risk etc., and assuming that all teachers/staff have been vaccinated, how do you think the schools will look in September?

- Fully masked/socially distanced kids?
- Reduced class size?
- Some continuation of hybrid/at school model?
- Back to normal?
- Somewhere in between?

[msRB311]

My first grader recently went back 4 days a week. They had been 2 days a week. They said with the 4 days they wouldn't always be able to provide 6 feet of distance, at times it would be 3. they of course wear masks at all times except when they're eating lunch.

I would think schools are back in session 5 days a week in the fall, probably with masks.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by msRB311

My first grader recently went back 4 days a week. They had been 2 days a week. They said with the 4 days they wouldn't always be able to provide 6 feet of distance, at times it would be 3. they of course wear masks at all times except when they're eating lunch.

I would think schools are back in session 5 days a week in the fall, probably with masks.

I certainly hope so and think that's what they should shoot for. It's a difficult line to walk between preserving lives/health on the one hand and keeping our young people moving forward and providing a feasible situation for working parents - who may *not* be able to work from home. You can't ignore either side of this tension.

[charolastra00]

I think fall will be *more* normal. Full time in school (though probably more robust remote learning options for kids who are high risk) with masks, maybe less distance. Once teachers, administrators, and adult family members are vaccinated, it will be a real gamechanger.


We're not promising anything at this point, but my university is pretty confident that things will be mostly normal by fall on campus as everyone will be required to get the vaccination to come to work/school. We suspect that by that point in the vaccine roll-out, we will be able to secure enough doses to fully vaccinate anyone who had not had the opportunity to get vaccinated at home for whatever reason.

[Boston Shudra]

Let’s worry about the spring and summer before we start making tentative plans for fall.

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

How do you think public schools will look in the fall?

This is a hot topic in our school committee meetings, particularly as it relates to elementary-aged children. Many of the towns around us have gone back to full-time in-person learning for lower elementary-aged children or even K - 5.

The school committee has repeatedly told us that the plan for this fall is to open full-time in-person. At that point, teachers will have been vaccinated and there will have time to put a plan in place for those teachers who prefer not to vaccinate. For teachers with vaccinations, desks will be 3 feet apart. Cafeteria will likely still have seating 6 feet apart. I'm assuming masks will still be required.

The camps that were canceled last summer are hosting (limited) camps this summer, so all in all even this summer is looking more positive. Again, camps will still be needed, lunches will be 6 feet apart (and outside when possible), camp spots are much more limited and even the busses to camp are still 1 kid/seat. But all in all things are looking much more promising this summer.

I've resolved that I don't think my kids will be going to full-time in-person for the rest of this year. I'm happy for the towns around us who have figured it out, but I don't see it happening for us.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

This is a hot topic in our school committee meetings, particularly as it relates to elementary-aged children. Many of the towns around us have gone back to full-time in-person learning for lower elementary-aged children or even K - 5.

The school committee has repeatedly told us that the plan for this fall is to open full-time in-person.

I don't understand why there wasn't a massive push to upgrade HVAC systems to get sufficient air flow and filtering to make classrooms safe. Without doing that, when the devil mutation B.1.666 shows up where the vaccine doesn't do a thing, we can still conduct in-person classes.

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

At that point, teachers will have been vaccinated and there will have time to put a plan in place for those teachers who prefer not to vaccinateFor teachers with vaccinations, desks will be 3 feet apart. Cafeteria will likely still have seating 6 feet apart. I'm assuming masks will still be required.

You mean like send them a termination letter? Why should anyone be accommodated for going full Gwyneth Paltrow? I'm fine with someone medically unable to be vaccinated but there are plenty of teachers queued up to replace someone who doesn't want to get vaccinated because of nutty garbage they read on the internet. I certainly hope pretty much every employer takes the same position. Not vaccinated? You're not allowed in the building. You're certainly not getting our employer-subsidized health insurance. Take your nonsense elsewhere.