Yes, n95s work extremely well: but they have to be custom-fitted or else the gaps around the face make them only a slight notch above a level 2/3 surgical mask(which are above the typical mask the public wears). The custom fitted ones are very difficult to wear all day(though many of us in health care did before the vaccine, for months on end), leaving marks/sores on your nose and face . Definitely not a school solution.
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Reading a few of the school statements, they say it is clear itâs not spreading in the classroom where masks are worn. So Iâm not sure that better masks will help in the college setting. I think itâs spreading when unmasked despite vaccinations.
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Youâre probably right that the initial cases were probably due to students not wearing masks. However, some of these colleges have now canceled in-person exams so they must think the virus could spread in that setting.
I think that the schools that have cancelled in-person exams (Princeton, Cornell, Middlebury & Tulane, that I know of) have done so in an attempt to de-densify their campuses, both to slow the spread and to create quarantine space for those who have already tested +. Everyone is back to sharing bedrooms & bathrooms this year, and no school has quarantine space for the # infected. Additionally, removing those who test negative will ensure they do not contract the virus.
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Some of the statements actually included that in person exams were safe. The switch to remote exams was probably to make people feel better more than preventing spread in that setting. And to allow flexibility for professors and students leaving early.
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Middlebury only moved classes and exams online but didnât send student home early. Is that still the case?
I do not know as I do not have a student at Midd.
Students were told to depart from campus as early as possible instead of waiting until after they take their finals.
This is the article I saw last Thursday:
If many of these cases are omicron is there any data about how long it takes to transmit? How many of these currently negative kids being sent home immediately are just taking it with them? If itâs that contagious.
Some of these students will certainly be infectious when they get home. They probably should isolate and be tested frequently for a few days.
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Perhaps look at the mask ratings to find those with both good filtration and good airflow? Many common cloth masks are not that good at either. N95 level masks do vary in airflow and therefore comfort when used for long periods of time or during physical activity.
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âAnd some patients outright refuse to believe in COVID, refuse to be intubated, and we watch them die, literally suffocating to death. And that feels wrong. That constant struggle wears on you, and it beats you down.â
If far more people were vaccinated, maybe the idea that âitâll just be like the seasonal snifflesâ would hold water. But even if omicron is marginally milder than delta (which is still TBD), if it tears through the real world at the rate it has exploded at these colleges, the impact on the health-care system is going to be worse than all the other waves combinedânot only the surge of patients, but what to do when a huge number of staff are infectious.
This is why I bought a winter housing contract. Hole up in the room in a near-empty dorm for a few days except for getting food, test, come up negative, come home.
The duckbills fit pretty tight. Not the most comfortable thing, but you can wear the for a few hours. Definitely fine for a 50-min class, though if I had to be in one of those rooms Iâd be wearing eye protection, too.
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They moved to surveillance testing, mandatory, pretty fast, because they stash all those smart people there. The numbers are a lot lower at my school. Not nearly so many smart people.
Did I miss a report on how many of the Cornell students are sick and if any are in the hospital?
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Iâd love to know that too. Cornell should report on the severity.
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I know this has been discussed ad nauseum but the schools that are doing testing are seeing lots of cases, the schools that are not are seeing no cases. I am sure that my Sâs southern conservatory that does not required vaccines that has kids doing intensive arts this week has just as many cases of omicron as the schools that are shutting down, we just dont know about them
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Certainly not!?
Why take Zithromax, an anti-biotic against bacterial infections, when infected by the flu virus?
On the other hand, yes, if someone disregards medical expertise, then they should certainly be consistent with their choice and not take up space/resources in hospital.
I have no problem if they want to go through their own cash to purchase ritonavir for home use, once it becomes available next year.
As far as health insurances, all expense should be regarded âmedically unnecessaryâ, if someone opts against vaccination. No need for my insurance cost go up to pay for avoidable treatments, after someone suddenly decides Dr.'s know after all what they are talking about.
Yes of course. Just saying that, with omicron, maybe it will be time to call Covid endemic and stop mandating testing. Feel sick? Get tested. Otherwise, looks like we could have giant percentages of a student body in isolation for ten days which doesnât make sense anymore. Canât wait to see when the schools who have never stopped surveillance testing finally stop.
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I so agree with you. Based on the data so far, for vaccinated Omicron is not a big threat. For any virus (including the Flu before Covid) there were always some deaths. I know we are short on data, but at these schools, especially the ones requiring boosters for everyone, if Omicron still happens, but not serious illness, is it necessary for 10 days isolation, and to shut everything down. Carefully watching SA and the UK right now. My D while in college had both the flu and Mono. She did not go to class while with fever, feeling sick, but there was no tracking or mandatory isolation. She got the Flu from her roommate. This spring is my Sâs final semester at school (he is on the 3 year plan). He has had one Normal semester his entire college career. (fall freshman). This semester has been somewhat normal , but with masks required for a kid on the spectrum, reading faces is very important, and he still has not had that. I shudder to think what his final semester will be like now, and graduation. These kids have done all that have been asked of them. How many vaccines do they need? The latest South Park episode is interesting.
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