Risk to under 20’s

[Alex50]

So five people have died from Covid who are under 20 so far in the UK, 3 of those had under lying health issues, so only 2 with unknown health issue have died. There are over 4 million school age children in the UK. Do you think children are at risk if they return to school? Children are the least at risk category, surely a strategy should be put in place so they can return to school?

But in terms of parents working
It's only primary parent
So 4-11yo
Then oniy 1 parent would need to be home with them
Many parents are wfh anyway
Some parents (pubs/cinema etc) are furloughed. Many primary parents are sahp or part time.

I think it makes more sense to get more shops etc opened up, garden centres etc where you can SD.

I saw tesco said their staff can wear gloves and masks.

My concern re the children is we dont know the long term effects. Asthma/lung damage/infertility/if they will keep catching it until they get old enough for immunity/will they get it worse a second time (that happened with SARs and is a risk noted on the vaccine trials/reactivation/weakened immune system.
I agree the risk of death is not the main concern.
Reactivation could be an issue with vax too.
Worst case scenario people who have caught covid could have a shorter life expectancy in the long term.
Also all tis rush will lead to lives lost unnecessarily.
Even by sept drugs might have come to light to treat. Cpap machines vs ventilators.
Vitamin D or even bcg.
We might learn we need to take aspirin to stop covid blood clots.

Will you feel guilty your need to rush everyone back to school means uk has say 500k deaths vs hundreds in other countries?

If vit d were the issue. Waiting till people have a chance to byild up over the summer/now so they arent deficient in sept

I still can only find 5 children have died from coronvirus in the uk?

I still can only find 5 children have died from coronvirus in the uk?

And again what a low bar to set for children and adults.

As i say nhs own data.
Likely to be higher as this is hospitalised confirmed cases.

@Alex50 only 5 children dying? What a horrific sentence. Only?

I said earlier I would like to return to school when safe for everyone from the pupils and teachers to support staff and grandparents.

How that is done I not know. Testing? Temperatures? All i do know is that I wouldn't trust the government to get it right.

I worked in regular schools for over 20 years and think I’d still be saying the same if I was in a normal secondary.

I did say it would be an unpopular view but I stand by my opinion. I know a fair few teachers in RL who are setting their work, making sure their emails are open, but have essentially decided that the summer holidays have started and are now protesting loudly that they will not go back to work because it’s not safe. We have no solid evidence that children are super-spreaders, and there is no solid evidence that teachers would be in any more danger than supermarket checkout assistants, other shop workers, or people who work in takeaways. Teachers would certainly not be in anywhere near as risky situations as doctors, nurses or other HCP.

You are right. Zero evidence to show children are super spreaders but lots of evidence coming out to say the opposite in fact.

I don't know what the definition of a "super spreader" is, but even if children are average spreaders, that would still be enough for infection rates to soar if schools are reopened in the near future.

The issue as we say is the risk to teachers and parents

I agree with EvilTwins that talking about going back is perfectly reasonable. I have friends who have already had to get CAMHS involved because of a huge decline in their child‘s mental health under lockdown. Poor families will be getting even poorer, abuse will be harder to spot. Offsetting COVID 19 deaths in children, there will be increased child and teenage suicides, homicides and the beginnings of other health conditions that start with poverty and mental distress. It’s for the public health specialists to work out the when and how but there is no way that talking about school return is callous because sadly there will be severe consequences either way, in the end it‘ll be judged in retrospect and just depends on what version of awful we decide to opt for.

Pieceofpurplesky:
I said earlier I would like to return to school when safe for everyone from the pupils and teachers to support staff and grandparents

And when would that be? Keeping in mind the current lockdown is about slowing down the spread. Covid-19 is here to stay. A Vaccine for everyone is a long way of, or may never be... just as it is with flu.

supermarket checkout assistants, other shop workers, or people who work in takeaways

Supermarket checkout assistants have perspex screens.

People who work in takeaways have customers observing social distancing.

Both have relatively short exposure to each person.

Primary teachers - especially the earlier years - cope with bodily fluids of all types, daily. Multiple children hold their hands daily, most with very dubious personal hygiene practices. To do their work, they are routinely within only a foot or so of every child in their class at some point in every day. And that exposure is for 6 hours a day, to the same children.

It's a very different type of risk.

The sooner the better for kids going back for me.

The risk is really in those with an underlying health issue and those aged over 50. Yes there are some people who have died younger than this without any health issues, or at least known health issues, but the numbers are minuscule compared with the others. If older people want to keep isolating then they should be allowed to whether they still work or not. We need to get younger people back out there after this latest lockdown ends.

You are right. Zero evidence to show children are super spreaders but lots of evidence coming out to say the opposite in fact.

*Brilliant if that turns out to be the case! However most of that VERY LIMITED research with assumptions is based on under 10s there is a huge difference between a six year old and a 15 year old.

This statement also fails to again realise the amount of adults it takes to run a school.*

The sooner the better for kids going back for me. The risk is really in those with an underlying health issue and those aged over 50.

And where those two groups form more than 50% of a school's staff??

@random9876 I think I'm the only poster who referred to the OP being callous, so I assume it's my comment you were referring to - it is not her talking about schools going back that was callous imo (why would anyone think that? ) but her request for hard number about teacher deaths, and the way the request was made.

Random a lot of those problems are from lockdown not schools if these issues are still there when schools were open they are a major social issue that we should have been addressing way before now.

This statement also fails to again realise the amount of adults it takes to run a school.

And the whole community impact of children returning to school, in terms of the removal of social distancing for the entire community.

Ketchupqueen I'm 50, should I be back at work or not since you think I'm at risk? The government would not view me as vulnerable.

Ok so
1453 i think already (not incl the at least 3 home deaths) of 40-60
So if 5% have had it
1453x12= 17436 dead 40- 59? Year olds.
Let alone that again would be in icu but not dead. And maybe 4x that in hospital with oxygen.

I think some other countries have counted over 60 as vulnerable.

And that is assuming that the nhs isnt overwhelmed.

The risk is really in those with an underlying health issue and those aged over 50
Among secondary school students there will be lots with parents aged over 50.

It's not just deaths though is it? People can get really ill and be at home for weeks.

IF the advice remains to stay off work with a cough or temperature (rather than being tested) I'm not sure how schools will function in the colds season anyway. You aren't allowed to soldier on as we would all normally do.

The goal has been to manage the pressure on the NHS and to have spare capacity. That was been achieved.

We’re in the middle of a pandemic. Of course lots of people will get ill and be ill for weeks. Most will recover and be fine. The aim is not to stop most people from getting this.