My D took her remote class in an empty classroom with other friends from that class, not in her dorm room.
Unless a student is in quarantine, they can find a quiet space to participate in lecture.
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D20ās school is requiring masks indoors everywhere but while eating and in their own dorm room, so that wouldnāt work for her. Iām sure sheāll figure something out, though.
Remote learning as itās advantages. Not every classmate I had at school was an asset to my education. Some where disruptive in class, others where bullies or otherwise repulsive in personality. I would have gladly taken the option of avoiding having in person classes with them and stayed at home every now and then and study online , maybe form a pod with my very best friends so that the social component is still there.
Hybrid offers the best of both worlds and could offer an educational experience superior to in person only for the reasons I gave.
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iām also going to guess that many of the vaxxed kids who are feeling lousy wonāt go get tested, unless they are really sick.
for that matter, my (vaxxed) household of 3 all felt a little lousy this past week for a few days. Sniffles, sore throats, and D23 had a 99 fever one evening. common cold? small virus? CV breakthrough? we didnt even think of getting tested . . . I canāt imagine my college kid (large state U) and my friendsā kids (large midwest state Uās) going in to get tested for mild symptoms when the ramifications are harsh and accommodations are nil if positive.
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Iām sending my kid with a print out of one of these charts so he can get a clue if he needs to test.
There will be a reluctance to test Iām sure among students but then you also donāt want to be that contact people got it from.
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From that printout it pretty much says any of those symptoms can be Covid so they would presumably test if they had any of them?
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Chances are they would have more than one symptom if symptomatic. Itās true that it can be difficult to tell especially with Delta but I still think the chart can be useful.
Iām also thinking about that in the context of high school, where thereāll be no organized testing and doesnāt seem to be much visible planning about what to do in the event of an outbreak. Would you do surveillance testing of your kid (say a rapid test every week)? What happens in the event of a positive but asymptomatic result? Will your kid then get blamed by their classmates for closing down the high school?
I think the first month or so is going to be a cluster at most colleges unless they have small, rural, and can do a bubble of sorts. Delta doesnt seem to care if you had covid before or you are vaccinated in terms of infection (just serious infections). Everyone living in a frat house will likely get it, and my guess is most if vaccinated and previously had covid last year will be asymptomatic. My prediction is that mid Sept both in colleges and around the country things will start to maybe simmer down. The other thing I read is that Delta is affecting those under 18 more than any other variant or the original virusā¦ At this point without the vaccines the death rate would be through the roof, hospitals would be beyond surge (similar to India) and lockdowns would be occurring(forget about any college in person); the vaccines have lessened the severity. I am keeping an eye on India/UK and even Israel to see what happens. In India areas that it burnt through as doing better, and other areas worse.
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surveillance testing:? ā our state shut down the free testing. no way would we pay for it for a sniffle. Last summer we had a kid tested at an urgent care, thinking it was free, and got a $438 bill!
and i agree with sdl0625 - its going to be interesting at large public colleges not requiring the vaccine, but not as crazy as last year and things will slow down. I think very few if any breakthrough cases will be reported as well.
Although there has been a lot of talk of breakthrough infections they are actually very rare. I am vaccinated and a doctor. I have had cold symptoms and have frequent exposure to unmasked young kids at work who have cold symptoms. I have been tested each time and have been negative. If you have a vaccine and wear a mask the likelihood of COVID is very very low. College/high school kids who are vaccinated who have mild cold symptoms should not worry about getting tested.
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This is simply and substantially untrue. A fully vaccinated person is 8X less likely to be infected, period, by Delta (with much, much higher rates of protection against symptomatic disease, hospitalization, and death):
ā Vaccination lowers the risk of infection eightfold and the risk of hospitalization or death 25-fold, according to the CDC.ā
The reporting around the leaked CDC Provincetown deck was an innumerate public health disaster. This current spike is driven and sustained by unvaccinated adults. The fall will look dramatically, clearly different at colleges with near-100% student and faculty vaccination rates and those with no mandate and lower uptake.
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Are everyoneās colleges still doing the āquarantine dormsā? Ours announced a day or two ago that it will not have quarantine dorms, and while the details are unclear, it appears that they can force on-campus students who test positive to leave campus in order to quarantine for 10 days (this was in an email from housing to students only and I have not seen it - only heard from other parents who have).
This is a big deal for anyone who doesnāt live within a reasonable driving distance from campus (or on the other side of the country) and canāt come pick up their students, as they would have to pay for a hotel for 10 days or find some other arrangements (our parents are great though - those who live close are already volunteering to help.) Iāve heard that in some instances vaccinated students who test positive and have minor symptoms may be allowed to isolate in their rooms but I donāt know what the criteria is for that option (vaccines are required for all students unless the college approves a medical or religious exemption).
Regular testing is not required for vaccinated students as of now but if it becomes mandatory, I worry about the asymptomatic positives potentially being kicked off campus for 10 days. Itās confusing because vaccines are mandatory here (as well as indoor masking) and any breakthroughs should be relatively minor - so Iām not sure why they are taking the tough stance of kicking kids off campus to quarantine. I know it will deter kids from getting tested, or going to student health for any cold/flu-related issues.
My kid never wanted to venture very far from home (sheāll be 3 hours away) - I would be more than a little anxious if I lived across country, with this new development. My D21 has both had Covid and been fully vaccinated - hopefully itās enough.
I think the problem will be that college students will not always be masked. There is a full range of masking & vaccine requirements on college campuses, and I assume that those with more stringent mask & vac requirements will have far less spread, but as sdl0625 commented, the virus may rip through everyone living together in one Greek house.
In addition to the more contagious nature of Delta, we have the change in attitude about masking. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
Although my kids are older, I follow this thread because I volunteer with HS kids (specifically applying to college) and I have several nieces/nephews headed back to various campuses.
I seriously hope these kids can have as normal a college experience as possible. The kids I work with are under served and already face so many hardships, so getting to college is already a huge undertaking for them.
My biggest worry right now are these darn breakthroughs. I hate that I personally know at least 10 confirmed cases. Without getting into too much detail, one is from a recent wedding where, as of right now, there are 5 positive cases and another half dozen (that we know of) with symptoms and waiting for results. These are all people in their mid 20s. I imagine it will eventually be all age groups from this event but this is the group I know about. Symptoms are mainly lots of sinus congestion, headache, general cold stuff, feeling blah. Seriously hoping the vaccine will prevent more serious illness for these people. Everyone was fully vaxxed!
But, after hearing all this, I am more concerned about what this means for congregate living, socializing, etc., on campuses if these breakthroughs are going to become an issue. And, how will the colleges handle that? Wouldnāt want that job! Fingers crossed that isnāt the case and these breakthroughs are just outliers.
Itās all so frustrating and disheartening.
exactly! the large midwest Uās around here that we know kids at - arenāt providing accommodations for positive kids. They have to find their own space off campus. Some are requiring weekly testing; some not. (Iām talking schools like KU, ISU, Mizzou, UNL, TCU, SDSU) . Having no accommodation plan will deter kids from getting tested when they have symptoms for sure.
@helpingthekid73 - thanks for your thoughts. feeling a little better reading that.
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Our kids and my husband have had various colds etc this summer. All have been tested more than once and not one Covid case. S19 likely had strep since a friend of his had it but after the negative Covid test he decided to just wait it out and got better without going to the doc. D21 and my husband both had symptoms that knocked them out for a few days and they had over a week of typical cold symptoms too but both negative. So lots of stuff going around.
Iām sure college kids will be hesitant to test at college if they think it will be detrimental in any way - no where to isolate, missing class with no remote option. I donāt know what the answer is. I do think that anyone who feels sick enough will feel pressure to get a test but maybe just having cold symptoms isnāt going to be enough for them to seek a test.
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Abbott BinaxNOW rapid tests are available in your local drug store, 2 for $25.
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I think once this Delta wave passes, that many schools will drop their mask requirement for vaccinated community members.
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has anyone heard of any schools forbidding social gatherings like last year (aka parties)