How worried are you about your DC's catching covid at school?

[Beebityboo]

My DC's go back on Monday and because I am an absolute masochist, I have been on twitter far too much today and got myself really worked up about sending them back. I have been scared about them going back since last March when I pulled them out two weeks early and I sent them back in September with great reluctance. My youngest had a cancer scare over a year ago and it triggered quite severe health anxiety. I am also disabled and shielding (though now vaccinated which is a huge relief).

It seems with this new variant and no vaccine for younger children on the horizon I have to accept there is a good chance they will in fact catch this, that if I want them to have a decent quality of life and go back to school I need to accept that risk. The issue is due to my anxiety I have a really hard time understanding risk/statistics etc and having been born with an incredibly rare disability I have never really been reassured by them. Before schools closed last Christmas there were lots of scare stories about lots of children being in hospital and it seems that this new variant really does infect younger children much more readily.

How worried are you about your children possibly catching covid at school? Do you worry about them getting very unwell or suffering long covid?

I suppose I need someone to help me to get my head straightened out and things in perspective.

Very worried
Ds (10) has a rare genetic condition complex needs and learning disabilities. He has been shielding for most of the year.
We are hoping that he will go back to school after the Easter holidays, as he is starting secondary in September and I am also very worried about how that would play out, if he hasn't been to school since last March!

@Beebityboo I'm sorry you are still struggling, we've been on lots of threads together. In your op you say, no vaccine for younger children on the horizon - just to let you know the trials on children are underway, and talking to ds's paediatrician yesterday he is very hopeful for a paediatric vaccine programme being rolled out at the end of the year.

Not at all. My child’s teacher had it in December and no child caught it.
Current prevalence in my city is one in two thousand people.

Not in the least.

I remember your posts from August/Sept and know how hard this has been for you and how hard you have tried to fight your anxiety.

I think you were mostly worried about your children passing the virus to you and you dying and leaving then alone? So, I do wonder whether, now you have been vaccinated, your relatively justifiable fears have transferred themselves from your own health to your children's. There is really almost zero risk to children so the anxiety is much less rational (although that absolutely doesn't make it less real or horrible for you).

I'm not worried at all. But I'm not vulnerable, nor do I have health anxiety. Do not a comparable situation.

Not too worried. I'm lucky enough to have had my first jab. I'd be a bit happier if DH had had his but hopefully he will soon.

Zero but that is easy for me to say. I had it and was not ill in the slightest. Am sure they must have had it too and they were not ill. Husband is a care worker and has worked throughout. So I suppose in a way I have the luxury of not being able to worry about it. Whereas I understand why you might see things a bit differently, you cannot let fear stop your children from living which I can see you know. I really hope you get the support you need.

OP - my son has a disability. It’s not rare but still 1 in 1000.

When you are the 1 in 1000 you’re no longer comforted by statistics.

I understand why you feel worried. Those who’ve been lucky to always be one of the 999 will never empathise.

Zero worries

@ChelseeDagger

I'm not at all worried. Having observed Covid at close quarters and followed the most contemporary findimgs as they are made public, it seems to be an extremely discriminate virus as to who it affects seriously adversely. Our family is predominantly type O- and following the most recent science this seems to lower our risk quite considerably.

Well bully for your family. Unfortunately my is mostly type A and I am in my late 50s with DH in his early 50s, so yes I am quite worried DS (16) will catch it and bring it back from school . DS'd attendance at school is the single biggest risk of us catching it as both DH and I WFH and avoid pretty much any indoor space including supermarkets during lockdowns and periods of high infection rates. . None of us has been vaccinated yet either.

Not in the tiniest bit worried but very, very pleased that children are going back.

Very.

2 primary aged children who will mix in different bubbles for classes and wraparound. DH and I secondary teachers, 49s so not vaccinated.

Shit scared.

I am sorry to all the posters that recognise me and have had to put up with my anxious threads for a year now [oops]. I just wish the government had done something substantial to make it a safer return so parents like me could feel secure and safe about our health.
And as a prior poster has said too, when you are the sufferer of a really rare disorder, statistics don't offer the same comfort that they might to someone else.
I am slowly getting hold of my anxiety but I have been almost housebound for a year, things feel intense and scarier than they probably are in reality.

@motherrunner

Very.

2 primary aged children who will mix in different bubbles for classes and wraparound. DH and I secondary teachers, 49s so not vaccinated.

Shit scared.

Why? You are young, you are clearly not extremely vulnerable as you would have had the vaccine. Why would you be shit scared of a virus that, even if you got it, would likely be mild or asymptomatic?

I genuinely don't understand this level of fear. (Not directed at the op, I understand you are struggling with your anxiety and are trying to address it.)

@bumblingbovine49I am sorry that you fall in to the higher risk category re blood type. However, having followed with interest the recent findings I think its a positive development that you know that you are higher risk and can act accordingly.

Its certainly better than simply using the blunt instrument of the generic flu risk factors; that's all advanced age/obesity/immunocompromisation ever were after all.

I hope you stay safe and well.

Hey @Beebityboo, we talked a fair bit in early January. I was in a similar position to you if you recall.
I'm trying to keep it in perspective. Cases are lower in our area than they were for most of the autumn term. I've been vaccinated and the chances of them catching it are low. It's a small chance of them being very unwell. There are probably bigger risks crossing the roads on the way to school particularly considering the drop off madness outside our primary!
So mine are going back. They need to now. We'll stick to the rules and it's 3 weeks until the Easter break.

@SirSamuelVimes Because I have seen so many people suffer. This week I received an email from a Head of House of a pupil I teach who is very worried about coming back as she has lost 4 family members to Covid. I live and teach in an area that is predominantly BAME.

Are they primary or secondary age?

Primary school kids far less likely to catch it than anyone else and if they do, they VERY rarely suffer any ill effects.

"Before schools closed last Christmas there were lots of scare stories about lots of children being in hospital and it seems that this new variant really does infect younger children much more readily."

There is no evidence of any change in susceptibility of children to any of the new variants. PIMS is of concern but the numbers affected are quite low - ~10-15 cases a day nationally at PEAK - infections levels are about 1/10th of that right now.

[quote motherrunner]@SirSamuelVimes Because I have seen so many people suffer. This week I received an email from a Head of House of a pupil I teach who is very worried about coming back as she has lost 4 family members to Covid. I live and teach in an area that is predominantly BAME.[/quote]
But this doesn't increase your risk?

I’m not really worried at all. Step away from Twitter OP.

They are primary aged. To be honest it went better than I had imagined it would last September-December despite my anxiety being through the roof pretty much the entire time. They didn't catch it (that we are aware of) and didn't have to isolate once, no burst bubbles. However with less than half the school in since January it has been newsletter after newsletter with burst bubbles, teachers and children catching it and children self isolating. Doesn't seem like it is that rare for children to catch this new variant, our school isn't even in a big town or anything.

I mostly worry about PIMS, it looks very similar to whatever virus DD had when she was so ill over a year ago and I never want her to go through something like that again.

@Beebityboo

I didn't say it was rare for them to catch it - just a lot less likely than older kids/adults. The numbers from ONS showed a dramatic increase in secondary school age kids infected, but you didn't get that impact on primary....

The rarity is for primary age kids to become ill - as for PIMS - well it's statistically highly unlikely to affect any single kid. It's currently about 10x more likely for them to be killed/seriously injured on the road if that helps put it in perspective.

I’m not worried DH has now had the vaccine, he’s the most vulnerable. It was rife in daughter’s school before Christmas but my daughter’s year never had a positive case, I think a lot of her year got it last March as a lot of parents were quite ill but the children were all fine and never had any symptoms. The school have also sent out a 20 page power point and video of all safety procedures, we all have to test twice a week Sunday and Thursday, the numbers in our area are really low, so there is always a risk but it’s very small. I am lucky though my family apart from hubby are all very healthy, if my children had an on going serious health condition though I would be worried.

@Beebityboo- have a read of this. I’ve no idea why this isn’t making the actual news people listen to - TCells are looking fabulous at protecting us against any variant of covid. It’s such good & reassuring news!

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/crucial-wing-of-immune-system-just-as-good-at-recognising-new-coronavirus-variants-study-finds-nr3xbvhtc

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/16a2bea8-457e-4d7d-9f5b-15b31ddd89c0

I have a clinically vulnerable child at home and will be sending her brother back to school in a couple of weeks. My youngest can't get the vaccine and has a chronic illness meaning we have been shielding her for a year. There's very little guidance for people in our situation and I'm really worried. DS has really struggled with lockdown and his mental health so he really needs to get back to school so it's really a difficult and worrying situation

No shits given.