Thread by @helenafricker

My name is Dr. Helen Fricker and I am a Professor of Geophysics at @Scripps_Ocean, @UCSanDiego. I am also a parent of two children currently in the @sdschools system, and a third who is a freshman at @uc Davis. 1/16

Through my profession I know the importance of trusting science when it comes to making decisions that affect the public. 2/16

We all want this seemingly never-ending pandemic to end, we all want the mask mandate to end, and vaccinating a significant amount of the population is one easy way to make this happen sooner. 3/16

The Covid-19 vaccine was designed to put an end to the pandemic, and is extremely safe. It has been approved by @US_FDA, and is available for free to everyone 12 and older. 4/16

Covid-19 is airborne. If you inhale Covid from an infectious person, you will likely become infected. People release infectious virus in their breath simply by breathing and speaking. #COVIDisAirborne 5/16

This virus can travel much further than 6 ft, build up in indoor air, and remain in the air for hours much like cigarette smoke. SDUSD has invested a lot to clean the indoor air, but this virus is tenacious and will seek out those who are unvaccinated. 6/16

The vaccine lessens the severity of Covid if a person becomes infected, so they do not get as sick, and are less likely to pass it on to others. 7/16

This keeps people out of hospitals and allows our children to get back to the classroom more safely. It allowed schools to open and will allow them to remain open. 8/16

But the spread of the virus in the unvaccinated population is enabling it to mutate, producing variants. The longer it continues to evolve the more transmissible the virus is becoming and the less likely vaccines will be effective. 9/16

Unvaccinated individuals are suffering severe Covid symptoms, and many hospitals in areas with low % vaccinations are overflowing with people in the ICU on ventilators. 10/16

SDUSD currently has only about 56% of its eligible population vaccinated. Let’s be honest. Unvaccinated teachers, staff and students are putting our children and families at risk if they are contagious and in the classroom. 11/16

Our children are currently in this environment for several hours a day.
Many don’t know they are sick and have zero symptoms.
They can take it home to family members and get them sick.
Those that are getting sick are missing large chunks of school. 12/16

We should not allow teachers to put their fellow staff and students at risk, simply because they have been misled by misinformation.
It makes no sense for vaccine deniers to not believe experts in immunology, virology, infectious disease, and other scientific fields. 13/16

You see it every day on the news—another unvaccinated person gets sick or their child or family member is seriously ill—they say “I wish I had been vaccinated”. It is too late for most of them. 14/16

Doctors repeatedly tell the same sad story—about a seriously ill person arriving in the ER begging to get their first vaccination. Again, it’s too late. 15/16

The vaccine is our major weapon against this virus—we are smarter than this virus.
I urge you all to do the right thing: Trust the science, and support a Covid vaccine mandate at @sdschools. It is the right thing for our kids, our families, and our communities.
Thank you.
/end

@Scripps_Ocean @UCSanDiego @sdschools @uc ...And wrong tag for @ucdavis at the top, sorry about that!