Exactly. And really, missing lectures isn’t as big a deal as missing recitation sessions and/or labs.
I don’t know any school (that normally doesn’t offer classes remotely) that is having a remote option this year, including none of the NESCACs AFAIK.
If infected need to isolate for two weeks that’s quite a bit of time to miss class….bad on a semester schedule, could be a serious situation on a quarter system.
My brother’s HS announced - no virtual option. If you have to quarantine you miss school the old fashioned way. The problem is the HS is not mandating vaccines. There can be high outbreaks. Last year my brother was forced to quarantine 3 times because he was contact traced…that was 30 days! He was totally fine and healthy, but forced to learn at home for an entire month.
I’ve found out that Colgate is only testing unvaccinated students. Bowdoin hasn’t said yet. If these small campuses only test the 5% or less of the student body that isn’t vaccinated, they likely aren’t going to find much virus. Also, at least at Colgate, if a vaccinated person is a close contact and has no symptoms, they do not have to quarantine (I think that’s also CDC guidance). With that testing program, Colgate likely won’t find much Covid and maybe that’s why they aren’t particularly concerned about kids missing class.
As for two weeks out of class if positive, didn’t we get to the point last spring that isolation was less than that? Maybe seven days? That would be one week of of class and I bet those small LAC professors can make sure a student can miss a few classes and still be ok.
I think the 7 day thing was for close contacts and their quarantine time…if get a negative test can get out at 7 day mark, otherwise 10 days quarantine. Vaccinated people don’t have to quarantine if they were in close contact with a covid positive person.
AFAIK isolation for those infected was 14 days but now is 10 days for most people, but it’s not super clear especially for those with more severe cases (could be up to 20 days isolation). Ending Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19: Interim Guidance
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html
MIT has some good FAQs (they should help CDC write guidelines LOL)
Yes, I mentioned in my post a week to 10 days, but others mentioned 2 weeks. Definitely last school year it got moved down to 7 days under certain circumstances. I do think it is possible it will move back to a longer time this fall because there seems to be evidence that with Delta, people stay contagious longer, etc. Good grief, I hope not. But anyway, agree that quarantining for close contacts ought to be only for the unvaccinated (as does CDC currently).
LuckyJade, for your brother’s school, I would hope vaccinated kids don’t have to quarantine if they are close contacts. That could be very disruptive to their schooling, esp without remote options.
As for testing protocols in the fall on campuses, I’m going to wait until September to see what my kids’ school is saying…I do believe there’s a huge potential for change, in either direction (more frequent mandatory testing including the vaccinated, or dropping testing altogether, who knows), between now and September, based on what is happening in our country. We saw so many last minute changes last year; I’m not really counting on almost anything the schools are saying in July 
. I will be so disappointed if it isn’t a dramatically more normal year for the students, but I don’t want to jinx it!
FDA full approval can’t come soon enough for these schools. I am optimistically thinking it will happen in August, which might make a big difference for schools this fall. It certainly seems that not being fully FDA approved is a sticking point for a large subset of those unwilling to get vaccinated right now, and also a sticking point for many organizations with respect to mandates. I sure hope we see a bump of at least 10 more percent getting vaccinated soon after full approval. That could really change the scenario in schools, I think particularly for the under 18s (middle & high schools). 
So she doesn’t know how her friend got it. If I find more information out will find out and let you know. My son just started his job in RI… He was telling me the same about masks… Hopefully things stay good there. He still has his in his pocket and still wears it going inside a store. But at his work they don’t wear one (large manufactory plant), in his cubicle area etc.
They’re not all vaccinated. Many US Olympians are not vaccinated and have said they’re not getting the vaccine now that they’ve been training and don’t want to risk getting sick, etc.
Also, many schools aren’t going to offer a remote option. It’s very expensive for schools to do that and the point is they want everyone to be vaccinated, even if they can’t or aren’t mandating it. So, they’re not going to give anyone a reason to stay remote if they can help it and for those who can’t come to class because they’re not allowed, it’s no different than when they have to miss classes because they have some other illness - chicken pox (some still get it), mono, flu, etc. Also, don’t forget that having to isolate for 10 days and miss classes doesn’t mean a student is missing the same class 10 days. Depending on when Day 1 started they may only miss one full week of each class. So that’s most likely 2 or 3 class sessions total. Also, by me k-12 schools are also no longer offering a remote option at all either. The issue really will be if a kid is sick and has to miss an exam.
Cornell sent an email this morning to students and parents. No change in plans as previously mentioned but continuing to monitor the CDC and state guidelines as they did last year. They have a vaccine mandate for students, almost all faculty are vaccinated (99%), 96% of undergrads (rising daily as freshman report their status), and 97% of grad or professional students (also mandated). Amazing to see those faculty numbers since they do not have the mandate. The only lowish group is the “other employees” at 84% but it is rising as it was 80% only a few weeks ago. These are staff like custodial, food service workers, etc. But the bottom line they have an overall vaccination rate well above the herd immunity levels and no testing required if you’re vaccinated and no masks required. Hopefully they can stick with that plan and continue with the huge successes of last year.
The regional differences are interesting. We have an indoor mask advisory here and I’d estimate 75-80% are wearing masks in stores. We have about a 70% vax rate in our city area zip codes but are a tourist destination and it’s peak season. We travel to the Northeast for drop off in 3 weeks and it will feel a little weird if few are wearing a mask in crowded spots.
Regarding herd immunity, note that a UK study found that two doses of Pfizer - BioNTech were about 88% effective against B.1.617.2 / Delta. If we believe this effectiveness number and make the artificial assumption that Moderna is similar, and there are not enough J&J - Janssen recipients to matter…
B.1.617.2 / Delta’s R0 of 5-8 suggests that an 80% to 88% immunity rate is needed for herd immunity. So that means that a herd needs basically 100% vaccination to get to herd immunity if R0 is 8, since 100% vaccination means 88% immunity. 91% vaccination that would get 80% immunity would get to herd immunity R0 is 5.
I saw that this morning. All of the students were symptomatic and had been required to mask and social distance before. I hate to say it, but it is really too early to speculate on what schools will end up doing.
So for anyone to think students at the majority of colleges won’t be wearing masks indoors, crowded area’s, etc is just wishful thinking. I am assuming also if they have a mask policy of some sort it keeps the lawyers at bay also…
That’s exactly how it is here. My kids have to go into the dentist and every other appointment alone. Of course mine are over 18, but even if they weren’t initially they were making kids go in alone until recently. All medical places here are requiring masks. Post office requiring masks. Banks have a sign asking people to wear masks. We’re also a highly vaccinated area, thank god.
Also, I’m sure everyone has now seen the blame game beginning with the Governor of Alabama saying it’s time to blame the unvaccinated. Ironic since her state has the lowest rate and had she just done a better job in encouraging people get it 6 months ago, maybe they wouldn’t have the lowest rate. But as @Luckyjade2024 mentioned just a couple days ago, isn’t the Governor saying it’s ok to bully people if they’re not vaccinated? Not ok!
Also, to follow up with some Lollapalooza news. The lead story on the local news today as that the FBI is investigating the use of fake vaccine cards and trying to ensure tight security for the event next weekend. That said, they told people to bring their physical vaccine card or printed out negative covid test and not to show a screen shot. They said it will help them move faster in the line as they feel that is the greatest risk for anyone for the possibility for the virus to spread (waiting in line) because that’s where things will be the slowest as they check as there will be plenty of space to move around otherwise. I guess that does make sense when I think about how many stages there are and how there is a ton of open space for people to walk around without being on top of each other. But also fantastic to know they are heavy on the lookout for the fake vaccine cards and that they’re checking as people go through, not a pre-register kind of thing like I had thought. Unfortunately, the 72hour negative test to me means squat. Even though the viral load from the delta variant is much greater than the original varian and detected sooner, it means nothing if someone gets covid the day after the test, but just happy this thing is outside and have to hope the vaccines work.
While not college related, I was happy to see that NFL teams are taking action and that the Vikings policy of mandating all staff or you’re terminated was put into play when an assistant coach refused to get the vaccine and was terminated. Of course he will probably be picked up by another team as he has been a long time NFL assistant coach, but it goes to show some teams/companies/businesses are taking this seriously and this is exactly what is down the line in the world when the FDA has full approval in the next month or so. Many jobs require the flu shot.
The Patriots have also apparently fired a coach due to refusing vaccination.
Pitt is starting to come out stronger for vaccines. While still not requiring them ,they now are saying that they are strongly recommended. In a message today they said “The University of Pittsburgh is not neutral on vaccination . Everyone who can get vaccinated should be vaccinated—and our objective is to achieve very high immunization rates on our campuses.“ They will be providing a way to provide proof of vaccination soon (this isn’t rocket science, most schools have already been doing this, don’t know why it’s taking so long). If you don’t provide proof of vaccination they will assume you are unvaccinated and will be subject to regular testing, quarantine, etc. The message was pretty strongly worded. I’m guessing they are getting a lot of pushback about not requiring vaccines.
Realistically, don’t the unvaccinated deserve quite a lot of the blame? As for the Governor of Alabama, sure let’s blame her, too, and every other irresponsible politician who has been slow-walking or undercutting vaccination rollout.
Israel’s data is showing lower effectiveness against infection, but still pretty high for protecting against illness and hospitalization:
I am concerned about the fall. I will be entering an elementary school in a small community that is anti vax, anti mask. Most of these kids (all under 12) will not be masked unless the governor mandates it. A few kids will wear a mask.
At the same time, teacher/staff vaccines will/may be diminishing, but nobody knows when boosters will be necessary. Mine will be 6 months old when the students return, possibly unmasked.
I just heard that offices are rethinking their return to work policy, given the new variants. Some young adults may be working from home after a disrupted college experience. I just spoke to a mom whose son has never been to his office and is miserable.
None of this is good….all because some people refuse to be vaccinated.
I saw an interview with a history professor from Georgetown who, along with his wife, was fully vaccinated. They went on vacation with their unvaccinated child (age 10 or something, too young for the vaccine) and were diligent in mask wearing. When they got home, the daughter tested positive and then both parents did, too - all are symptomatic now.
My concern is about the number of children who can’t get vaccinated. They can pass along to their parents who go out in to the community, go to work (even on a college campus) and go about their business. Maybe their viral load is too low and they don’t shed in the community, but maybe they do and there hasn’t been enough research done yet. When there is a breakthrough infection, we don’t know exactly who spread it so it could have been a vaccinated adult without a mask… Who knows for sure?
I am hearing many stories like this, sadly.
Absolutely!
I am so sick and tired of people coming out and saying the vaccine doesn’t work so don’t get it and that’s why they want us to wear masks again. The reason we have to wear masks again is because too many selfish people refuse to get the vaccine so those who are vaccinated instead have to mask up along with everyone else as the only way to make sure there is reduced spread since the honor system clearly doesn’t work - no surprise.
If unvaccinated people got vaccinated, then they say this can be under control in a mere few months. Not only that but making everyone wear masks again is going to slow the spread again, then the mask requirement will go away AGAIN, and then what? People still won’t be vaccinated and it will just start up again. Eventually, there will be a much stronger variant and the vaccine won’t protect. It’s common sense. The vaccines are working. Yes, there are a lot of break through cases but the HUGE difference here is that those cases are not killing or hospitalizing people. We are no doubt entering the world of vaccine mandates and if that’s what it takes, then so be it. Most of our kids need various vaccines to enter college in the first place. So as soon as this is FDA approved, they will need this too. Governor’s refusing to allow schools to mandate the vaccine are just saying it’s ok to kill people.