Perhaps students should bring tents and winter sleeping bags so that they can live like homeless people when forced out of their dorms because of a positive test? And then invite local media to interview them (outside, with masks and sufficient distancing, of course) on their predicament.
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Sorry that I was unclear.
What I meant is that there are many colleges that do not plan to require masks indoors whereas there was more indoor mask wearing, pre-vaccine. While I understand the vaccineās effectiveness in slowing spread, lessening symptoms, etc, Delta is just so much more contagious.
Not debating really because we will know soon enough! Hereās hoping that whatever follows Delta is far less contagious.
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no kidding,
i canāt figure out if the large state colleges are in denial, or if they are playing hardball with unvaxxed kids. ??
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We do not know if they are rare or not because we only keep track of those breakthrus resulting in hospital stays. Judging from my friends and coworkers, they are not rare at all.
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At the hospital where I work we still have allocated RED wards and ICUs ( Covid positive) and GREEN ones ( negative) so in my community the number of unvaccinated and breakthrough cases is still high enough for the medical districts to still need to do that.
I think that when we reach a point where that added infrastructure is no longer required then the wider community can relax more with the testing.
So for example pre pandemic MRSA ( methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) was a big deal where I worked, wards had dedicated side rooms to isolate patients. But actually the general public commonly can have MRSA in their noses but most fit and healthy people barely notice it. We donāt aggressively routinely test for it outside of the acute medical setting. We will reach that point eventually with COVID.
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Whatever variant that follows Delta may be less deadly or cause milder symptoms, but it will be more, not less, contagious. A new variant can only dominate if it spreads faster and farther than existing variants.
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So many contagious illnesses make the rounds through college dorms on the regular - D13 had mono, strep & the flu (all fully documented by student health) before Thanksgiving her freshman year. At one point I thought sheād have to withdraw and come back in the spring, but she got through it. Was never required (or even asked) to leave campus to quarantine. She was also in a sorority (found out she had mono on bid day), so lots of opportunities for transmission.
I know Covid and Delta in particular is very contagious and there are concerns about long term effects, but there are also potential long term effects from mono (no vaccine available) - and a friend of Dās got a blood infection from a routine case of strep (also no vaccine) in high school and almost died (spent 2 weeks on a vent). Now that vaxes are available to most (with FDA approval coming in weeks), hopefully we can move forward in a positive direction.
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Yes, thatās what my S and his friends have been buying and using at college (to screen before going for a PCR test, which is free but requires walking to campus, lining up and waiting 24 hours for a result), and what my question about āDIY surveillance testingā assumed would be used.
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Story today saying that delta not as contagious as chicken pox which the CDC claimed
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Williams just mandated masks, here is an article from the Williams Record:
College reinstates mask mandate in public indoor spaces ā The Williams Record
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That page lists an R0 of 7 for COVID-19 (Delta) versus R0 of 10 for chickenpox (and R0 of 3 for the original COVID-19). R0 of 7 for something that transmits through nearby airspace rather than close contact is still very contagious.
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My daughterās school has dorms for isolation. Apparently if you have covid you spend your time in the isolation dorm. If you have had exposure you quarantine in your dorm. Iām at least glad they have a plan and provide resources for kids who can not travel home to isolate.
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Well itās good to get a perspective based on real numbers.
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But they could spread it to a vulnerable person who does then end up in hospital or dead.
I Remember reading somewhere that said that a vaccinated 80 year old still has a higher risk of hospitalisation than an unvaccinated 20 year old.
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Isnāt that why several countries are rushing booster shots to the elderly? For the rest of us, I donāt think most vaxxed people are worried about being hospitalized, but are very worried about long-haul symptoms if they develop even a mild case of covid.
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Todayās NYT doesnāt help, citing 2 small studies in which 20 and 50 % of breakthru victims still experienced problems 6 weeks after illness. I would not call that rare cases of long-haul covid. .
but cases overall are rare.
Colleges donāt all have the same plans nor do they seem to have the same goals regarding Covid. Itās hard for students to consider Covid policies when choosing a college because, as the pandemic evolves, none of us know what each college will decide. Iām so curious how this fall will go. Lots of people here think weāre going to see a ton of breakthrough cases but I still think that theyāll be regional depending on vaccination rates.
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Yes - and hard also because many colleges wait until after deposits & tuition payments to drop the Covid āplanā, so itās too late to back out.
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My vaxxed daughter will be a freshman at a large Texas state school. Moves into dorm tomorrow. Delta will burn through the campus and off campus housing like wildfire. I see on social media all the talk of parties. No masking, fully expect D to already have asymptomatic or low symptom case before classes start. Will only test if pretty symptomatic.
In Boulder, CU, Naropa, and a CC announced masks will be required indoors for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors. Not sure about dorms but they are indoors, soā¦ After many protests for and against, the Boulder Valley school district is also requiring masks for all students.
I think the other colleges and school districts will quickly follow.
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