As families get ready to head back to school this year, they do so in a school year when COVID-19 is still very much a part of the landscape.
We all hoped it would be in the rear-view mirror by now, but Delta took hold before enough vaccine got into enough arms.
And yet, it behooves us all to approach the upcoming school year with a mixture of concern, of prudence and yes, even some hope.
School-age kids remain one of the last groups of people who can’t yet be vaccinated. That situation is likely to continue until at least later in the fall.
Despite that, classroom learning will proceed closer to normal this year.
On balance it’s the right decision.
The fact remains there are harms – in many cases greater harms – that happen when kids aren’t in classrooms.
Evidence from last year – from both official sources and unofficial mommy networks – was that spread of COVID among children happened mostly through social activities outside the classroom. Those activities are still very much under parents’ control.
Yes, there is still risk that children could contract the virus. Some cases are, in fact, likely.
But the goal here was never to prevent all cases – likely not possible without widespread social disruption. The goal was always to prevent serious illness.
To be sure, there are additional measures that can be taken. Mask mandates for younger kids wouldn’t hurt. Vaccine mandates for those who work in schools and school vaccination campaigns also make a lot of sense.
For those in exceptional circumstances, online learning options should still be provided until vaccines for kids are approved.
The most important thing we can all do, however, is to get vaccinated, whether we have kids in the school system or not.
Most kids who get the virus will get it from unvaccinated adults.
That’s something simple that we can put a stop to that is completely within our control.
