Still no air filters in schools?

[wondersun]

Is anyone else really hacked off that there are still no air filters in schools??

The kids don’t spread it / don’t get sick from covid nonsense narrative has been replaced with cases are low due to school holidays (so much nicer when covid knew to wait at the school gates!) but the government are still refusing to do something so simple which could make schools safer.

Its like they don’t want to admit it’s worth avoiding repeat covid infections so therefore have to do nothing to stop/slow the thread and risk inevitable questions.

Even if it just slows it - every covid infection is a roll of long covid etc risks - why do they seem so keen to spread it round asap.

In the UK you’re free to board a packed train without wearing a mask, and even if you’re knowingly positive.

I don’t think air filters in school would do much of a difference to Covid spreading around the country. Other settings would need restrictions first.

They just open the windows which is more effective I would think.

I'm a teacher and I couldn't care less.

They're talking about schools potentially going onto a three day week because they can't afford to run the heating. Where on God's earth do you think the money will come from to pay for air filters?!

There’s no air filters in the vast majority of places or on public transport. I’m not aware of evidence for them with the current highly transmissible strains

All this "improve ventilation and hepa filters in all schools etc etc" was always an absolute nonsense - let's assume for a minute that government was going to come up the billions, there is simply not the skilled HVAC engineers/building firms to do this in any period of time, also many old building were never going to be able to even have "improved ventilation". It would take years and years to achieve for what real benefit?

This was never on the cards though, was it? I think the heating bills will be more of an issue…

There is an Italian study which showed a big reduction in spread of Covid in the classes with air filters. We have joint paid for filters in two classes at our child’s school.

Its absolutely what we should be doing. And it’s relatively cheap and not intrusive. As part of of an overall strategy of ensuring circulation of fresh air, isolation of cases and masks at the peak of waves. My child got asthma after Covid this year, GP said he’d had loads of kids with bad chest infections after the last wave.

There are countries where all the schools have been fitted with filters and good fresh air ventilation already. We are utterly rubbish and have a blind spot about schools. All driven by opinion based ‘science’ which is just lobbying power denying anything that is sensible regarding Covid.

@Flapjacker48 utter nonsense? It’s evidence based public health! And some countries are managing to do this in all schools. It just takes the will. The amount we’ve spent on hand bloody sanitisers could have paid for all of it!

@BungleandGeorge some public transport does have hepa filtration. All planes for example. Some trains. Many newer buses and trains have good fresh air ventilation also.

Could you link to the published research on that please?

@PasTrop omg no please others stop being so lazy! Google it and research it yourself. If you have done a proper search you wouldn’t even need to be asking. I used to come back and provide thinking others would actually read it. But no one ever does!

I'm CEV, with a young teen, and I literally haven't given it a single thought.

Get your autumn booster if available to you, focus on your health & fitness, and eating well. Wear a mask if you are worried.

That’ll be a no, then, you don’t have a link to any research as you’ve either completely misunderstood the YouTube video that you saw or just made it up.

We don’t spend millions of pounds on pointless technology to placate someone on the internet who’s a bit confused.

smartairfilters.com/en/blog/hepa-air-purifiers-reduce-classroom-covid-19/

@PasTrop I am a scientist, who knows research. But you do you!

I am a teacher in Spain. All our classrooms have filtered air

@Sdoubleyou thanks for the link. Sorry I just am sick of putting up links because people ask, and then they totally ignore them anyway.

This is basic known science at this stage people! Don’t get your science from mumsnet opinions. Look it up!

If you were you’d know that it’s never acceptable to make a claim like yours then act like a child when politely asked for a link to the data.

I’ve no idea what sort of scientist you think you are, but any genuine one would just give the link rather than acting as you are.

1. Schools don't usually have completely internally circulated air systems so filters in what air con/heating systems they do have would be little use.

1. Viruses are really small so a filter wouldn't get rid of all of them even if you could filter all the air.

1. Even at the height of the pandemic we got very little money for PPE and nothing to facilitate social distancing. The idea we might get money now to retrofit air filtration systems when I can't buy textbooks and we are doubling up classes when staff are absent is tragically humourous.

I’d love to see how teachers would manage with a three day a week pay slip! As I’d that would solve the issues!

Are you taking the piss? That’s a link to an advert by an air filter company.

What kind of “scientist” can’t understand the difference between an advert and a peer-reviewed study?

What kind of “scientist” can’t understand the difference between an advert and a peer-reviewed study?

It is a company, but the link discusses a study (that is further linked, so you can read that for yourself) of HEPA filters in schools in Georgia, US.

I don't think it's something high on the list anymore. The cost of living crisis has put paid to that. I work on the tube. I use it with no mask, hardly anyone does now. There's hardly any air on some lines, like the Central. I think we've moved on.

Not bothered in the slightest