When will our children get HEPA filters in their classrooms? I am so tired of my children constantly being ill and missing school!

[Annemcc32]

I can't believe we are still waiting for HEPA filters in classrooms, they were talking about this in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and STILL they have done nothing! What exactly are they waiting for at this point? There's tons of evidence that they work to remove viruses from the air.
My kids have had Covid 4 times so far and were both very ill. How can they defend doing nothing to prevent staff and children? They have a duty of care to provide a safe environment.
The MOST annoying thing is that clean air IS provided in the Houses of Parliament, many private schools and even the DfE!!
Other countries have already done this now and it reduces transmission of airborne viruses to offer a layer of protection and reduce illness/absence.
I noticed that one council has committed to it just recently (Herefordshire I think). Why is this not being sorted out ASAP before the kids go back in September?
Why are we so bad at protecting our kids?
Not to mention that IF bird flu takes off (no pun intended) this would help. Where did public health go? The UKHSA seem to have taken a sabbatical for the last four years.

https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/content/blogs/school-attendance-time-to-clean-the-air

If you still have a child well enough to be in school for the new school year there is likely to be lots of Covid. It often comes with / shortly followed by another infection. Our combination tends to be Covid then strep either concurrently or about a month after.
Please remember it's advised to avoid exercise for several weeks. Please try and mitigate the risk of them getting long Covid. Rest is vital. If it seems to be heading in the wrong direction for your child look at the Long Covid Kids charity resources and support group.

If your child is one of the unlucky ones the post infection illness landscape in the UK is not what it should be at all:
https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/david-j-black-cherchez-la-shrink

Common difficulties:
Children are not believed or supported by healthcare professionals or schools
Needing to pay for private medical care
Needing to pay for alternative education
Parents having to change their working arrangements/give up jobs
Medical absence being treated as unauthorised and fines or illegal off-rolling
Lack of section 19 educational provision for absence once over 15 days
Battles with EHCPs
Parent blame including referrals to social services and accusations of FII
Difficulties obtaining disability benefits such as DLA
Covid bringing illnesses such as PANS

I agree. Good laugh reading it all though.

Doubt this comment and others like it will age well.

We have CO2 monitors in science labs- they're linked to the gas supply. You cannot put the gas on unless the CO2 levels are low and they beep when CO2 levels are high and windows need opening.

Thousands of kids suffering is a strange thing to find hilarious, especially on a parenting website, but it takes all sorts I guess. 🤷‍♀️

All the people telling you we've been disabled by Covid or have seriously ill children from Covid... and you're having a good laugh reading about it? 😔

Every single word of this👏

HEPA filters aren't the sole solution, though, are they?
We need air filters, hand washing, masking when ill and needing to go out and staying home when ill. The pandemic didn't give us any lasting changes. We need a cultural shift in our attitudes and expectations around illness and when taking a needed break is appropriate and ok.

Genuine question - for you and anyone else finding it funny - what would need to happen in a pandemic for you to be concerned?

Feels like one big smoking room social experiment.

Unhinged is spot on! 👏

Covid damages childrens health.

www.news-medical.net/news/20240807/Research-reveals-autoimmune-mechanism-behind-multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawEiFOdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXahbDUP9EMNqiCinpaVVgE51diMiqvmHDH1W38AdYIQCwgTgzhTW7Ymyw_aem_kLKefacR0olOZv8Wad8zLw

How would you cope if your child developed long covid, like 109000 children already have in the UK alone? Genuine question.

What is feeding your kindness? Could it be anger or unease or something else. Is the small, but significant, minority that speak of science and statistics unnerving you somehow?

If you thought we were cranks, I’m not sure you’d waste your time. Or maybe you would 🤔

Same genuine question for you - and anyone else finding it funny - what would need to happen in a pandemic for you to be concerned?

It really does feel like one big smoking room social experiment - look it up!

*unkindness (if that wasn’t obvious 😅)

Article from 2021 - we knew then that we needed to improve ventilation and clean the air in schools. It also mentions the steps taken by Germany and US. Many other countries have also installed HEPA filtration.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/long-read-schools-let-down-by-governments-hot-air-on-ventilation/

Canada
https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/1000649/ontarios-improvements-to-school-ventilation-systems

Belgium - law to display CO2 levels in all public buildings and to ventilate/use filtration to keep under set levels - commenced 2 yrs ago to be fully implemented by 2025.
https://workinmind.org/2022/04/05/belgium-agrees-on-ventilation-plan-for-public-places-co2-meters-essential/

Valencia 2021
https://www.javeamigos.com/valencia-approves-emergency-supply-of-8000-air-purifiers-for-schools/

This is it!

https://twitter.com/_CatintheHat/status/1816209477839749618?t=R-e5-QSet9EFHvBisG67nA&s=19

I hope you live long enough to look back and acknowledge your ignorance, intransigence and misplaced confidence. https://x.com/CarlvKeirsbilck/status/1841357828855865853

This is for Fairy Rings, if I've confused things.

How apt. Fairy Rings for Fairy tales

Are you OK?

yes, see my post underneath. I was trying to reply to Fairy Rings 😩

Yes!!!!!

We have hepa filters in the house it’s not that strange !