Is it ok we are just letting our kids get Covid?

[Moonopoly]

DD5 has just tested positive for Covid. There have been several cases in her Year 1 class but school remains the same. Under the old rules the ‘bubble’ would have closed and she would perhaps have stood some chance of not getting it.
Is it ok that we are letting the government pursue a herd immunity policy with a novel virus amongst our kids?
We seem to be the only country doing this?

@MarshaBradyo

Us4Them, who have campaigned so disastrously for all children to be exposed to covid, and denied vaccination in a timely way

Who did you mean?

I said U4T they campaigned for kids to be denied vaccination (see linky) - they did

I didn't say they directly delayed it (not sure how they'd do that)

they were trying their best to have a negative effect overall bless em

and they probably did, with the mask issue (see other linky)

If it didn’t have an impact on vaccination why and how was it disastrous?

Or they ‘probably did’ ok then how exactly?

@Faffinator

Masks in the classroom ARE an invasive measure over the medium to long term so you need to ask what you want to achieve by bringing them back. By asking children to wear masks you are reducing or postponing but not removing their chance of getting covid. And no I am not Us4Them but I am a teacher. Masks reduce classroom interactions of all kinds because they make communication and understanding so much harder. Overall they have a substantial negative impact on our typical approach to teaching and learning which is typically not just teacher instruction but pair work, group work, whole class discussion etc. They lead to much less engagement, in my experience. For how long do you wish your child to have a subpar school experience in order to protect them from covid? I was happy for students to return in masks last year to get them back to school but that time has now gone. Remote learning is also a disaster not only for primary kids but also with most teenagers who are too self conscious to engage via a screen. It is obviously not ideal to allow covid to spread so quickly in schools which have not had much previous exposure, but I can't see any good alternative.

achieve what?

In the very short term, delay infection till those teens who want jabs get jabs

especially vulnerable ones

declaration of interest, I have a vulnerable one

long term, no prob don't need them if at least some/ most vulnerable kids are vaccinated

@MarshaBradyo

If it didn’t have an impact on vaccination why and how was it disastrous?

Or they ‘probably did’ ok then how exactly?

prob did have an effect on masks though

& I have argued masks would help in this situation

Ok so you’ve dropped vaccination delay

Good

@MarshaBradyo

Ok so you’ve dropped vaccination delay

Good

never said they delayed vaccination directly

just that they campaigned against it (very bad)

you could try reading, you know, they actual words I use

@borntobequiet

to implement such measures in secondary schools could be costly, impractical and harmful.

What extortionate cost, how impractical and what harm, when compared to extensive illness and lost learning, which is happening now. One in ten are out of school as a result of Covid, and we’re not at the end of September yet. I can see serious problems with exams again down the line, and as yet there seems no plan for that…

we had even more disruption to education when mitigations were in place- eg over the winter. This is partly because it is the mitigation measures that largely mediate the link between covid and disrupted schooling. (An obvious point which few people supporting mitigations are willing to recognise).

I read and you said disastrous impact via vaccine delay.

You could try writing clearly what you mean.

Your issue not mine.

er, you introduced the word delay x

and denied vaccination in a timely way

What did you mean by this if not delay

You are all over the shop.

@herecomesthsun

for example "CDC researchers concluded that schools without mask requirements saw nearly four times as many COVID-19 outbreaks as schools with such mandates."

www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-09-24/schools-without-mask-requirements-more-likely-to-see-covid-19-outbreaks

Would masks be useful in the UK? Probably. We seem to have a crisis here at the moment, even without children isolating if they have been close contacts of/ live in the same house as people testing positive.

Masks were I think quite useful in the March 8 return to schools.

Being is school and wearing a mask is, I would say, better for kids than being at home.

As you are no doubt aware, the extent to which cloths masks in real life (including school) settings make a meaningful difference to overall rates of covid transmission is hotly disputed. There is plenty of data that one could point to , to support either viewpoint. We also need to know- how much of a difference does it make in reducing transmission (much of the evidence says this is at best marginal) and what is the actual impact of this (in terms of preventing severe disease/ death) including in the long term. These questions are unknown. Meanwhile , there are social, educational and mental well-being harms in asking children to cover their faces all day while they are trying to learn, play and socialise. To completely ignore and dismiss these is fanatical I’m afraid.

@MarshaBradyo

and denied vaccination in a timely way

What did you mean by this if not delay

You are all over the shop.

nah

I didn't say they actively delayed the process

just that they campaigned against kids getting the vaccine (when it first became possible)

you extrapolated a bit & then exaggerated

changed the words round etc

we had even more disruption to education when mitigations were in place- eg over the winter

more mitigation measures I should say, as we still have mitigation measures (unprecedented for any other disease) (another point which few people seem willing to recognise).

Sure that’s why you said disastrous because it didn’t work at all

Whatever some people just cannot admit being wrong.. Funny

To completely ignore and dismiss these is fanatical I’m afraid.

Don't be afraid [smile}

So yes, there would be disadvantages in teaching long term in masks.

In the short term, teens wearing masks in school till they have had the chance to be fully vaccinated (if they want) would have some significant advantages.

It would also protect vulnerable kids who haven't had the chance to have 2 jabs yet.

@MarshaBradyo

Sure that’s why you said disastrous because it didn’t work at all

Whatever some people just cannot admit being wrong.. Funny

Disastrous in the sense that all their extensive activity has been negative and aimed at all children being exposed to covid.

If they had any influence on vaccination - then that was a shame

They are more likely to have had a direct influence on masks -also shameful

And yes, I do think that overall they are disaster.

@MarshaBradyo

Sure that’s why you said disastrous because it didn’t work at all

Whatever some people just cannot admit being wrong.. Funny

& some people read creatively x

It's the best way forward. We've got to live with it.

@herecomesthsun

To completely ignore and dismiss these is fanatical I’m afraid.

Don't be afraid [smile}

So yes, there would be disadvantages in teaching long term in masks.

In the short term, teens wearing masks in school till they have had the chance to be fully vaccinated (if they want) would have some significant advantages.

It would also protect vulnerable kids who haven't had the chance to have 2 jabs yet.

The problem here as I see it is we don't know how long it will take for this age group to be offered the jab and more significantly I suspect the take up will be both low and slow. There's therefore no realistic way your requirements would be met in the short term, and you're therefore asking kids to wear masks for a long time.

the age group 12-15 have been offered the jab, so we appear to be talking 6-8 weeks or so; by the start of next term the more vulnerable 12-15s would be double jabbed

I'm glad the children are being allowed an education from people that are qualified to educate! Lockdowns and pointless isolation has really affected my kids much more than catching covid would. If it worries you that much original poster then maybe home education is the way forward for your family 🤔.

If you didn’t mean they denied vaccination in a timely way then don’t include it. It’s simple.

If you want them to be legally accountable go for it. Good luck I doubt you have the right group,

I work in a primary school and I'm glad the isolations have stopped. It's so disruptive and just prolonging the inevitable anyway. Better to get it now when we've got decent vitamin D stores from a warm summer imo

@herecomesthsun

Us 4 Them have fought tooth and nail against every single covid mitigation for children.

They have also organised petitions and open letters within the Tory party itself.

on masks www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/show-evidence-masks-class-drop-measure-gavin-williamson-told/

and on vaccines www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/09/10/ignoring-expert-advice-child-vaccines-will-dissolve-public-trust/

They are arsewipes

Oh a million per cent this. They wouldn't know a proportionate measure if it smacked them in the face.

@MarshaBradyo

If you didn’t mean they denied vaccination in a timely way then don’t include it. It’s simple.

If you want them to be legally accountable go for it. Good luck I doubt you have the right group,

Oh I have the right group alright

I would love them to be accountable for the damage they have done to education

as I said before, fond hope, I imagine