This is a sticky decision for my family as well. It’s such a challenge to be faced with a myriad of options all that have substantial downsides.
Let me share some thoughts on my personal experience that may help you with your decision (a thread)
#DemcastFL
#NDLB2020
#FL19
Let me share some thoughts on my personal experience that may help you with your decision (a thread)
#DemcastFL
#NDLB2020
#FL19
As you may know, my youngest daughter had a rare blood disease and was immune-compromised starting from when she was 9mo. She also had a bout of pneumocystis that resulted in respiratory failure and her being intubated in the PICU for almost 2 weeks just after her 1st birthday...
Obviously, with such a medical history, I have been concerned particularly about her health during #Covid_19. I even contacted Lee Health Hem-Onc at the beginning of the pandemic to confirm we should self-isolate to keep her protected. And this is what we have done...
B/c of Trump the #Covid_19 response has been the #BiggestFailureInHistory, which has left us, esp in FL where we are not even out of the first wave, just trudging along hoping for things to get better, but they are not and we just have to live with the virus...
So here comes the new school year. School staff are worried for their own health and faced with a near impossible task. Parents and caregivers need to work and many students don’t have the technology access they need to be successful. Schools have been mandated to open...
My family has been grappling with what to do. I believe online school will be the safest option for everyone, especially little Evie. The children’s father wants them to go to in-person school citing assumed risk and social benefits 🙄...
I called Hem-Onc again. They now say Evie is far enough away from her issues and she is no longer high risk (although her lung condition is still unknown b/c she is too young for diagnostic)...
The children’s hospital went on to say that it is more than likely that any kids in in-person school will eventually get #Covid_19, but from the data and what they’ve seen cases have been mild and they are otherwise prepared to handle any influx of cases....
While I want to be comforted in knowing Evie is not as vulnerable as she was, I am NOT comforted in knowing medical professionals are just resigned to the fact that kids are going to get #Covid_19 and *most* will probably be ok, but look out for that inflammatory thing lol...
In Lee County we are sitting at around 21% positivity rate and 1.8% fatality rate for #coronavirus (total, not just pediatric cases, although their positivity rate has been over 30% recently). So let’s do some math...
Lee County School District has 94,410 students with appx 12,000 staff. Let’s assume all staff return to work and half of students come for in-person school. This gives us a pool of 59,205 people that a WILL be exposed to #coronavirus during the school year...
At 21% positivity rate, 12,433 will test positive for #COVID19. Of that amount, we can expect 224 to die at current rate of death in Lee County. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that 224 staff and students dying is much higher number of dead than a typical school year...
Of course there are assumptions here and we do not have the pediatric death rate considered. But let’s also keep in mind that with schools and day cares and many camps and activities closed, kids just have not been exposed to the #coronavirus at the level as adults...
We are also assuming the positivity rate remains as it is (it will probably go higher when schools open) and the death rate remains as is (may go lower with better treatment, or higher with an overburdened health system - aren’t variables fun!)...
However we look at it, it’s not good. Opening schools is risking kids and staff no matter what because the pandemic is uncontrolled. So, which 224 kids and teachers will it be? I guess we will find out 🤷🏼♀️😢
