That is correct! Even if throat swab is in the manufacturer’s package insert, if the lab or testing areas di not validate that type of sample, it should not be done. Even if these types of tests were cleared for EUA only, only types of samples that were validated should be used i.e., nasal or nasopharyngeal swabs.
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Regarding in-person instruction in colleges, the colleges or departments could have considerable trouble if a wave of COVID-19 rolls through the instructional staff (faculty and TAs) all at once. One instructor out sick for a day can usually be covered by someone else. Many instructors out sick and quarantining for a week at the same time will be uncoverable.
This is not to say that they need to revert to online/distance education overall, but it does mean that they need to think about having the capability of doing a class session or few in online/distance format while an instructor is quarantining.
But then some colleges that are doing the first few weeks of the term in online/distance format may be expecting such a wave of COVID-19 to roll through their instructional staff at that time, but then fall off to more manageable levels.
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I was thinking the same thing. It may apply to students as well. Presumably, colleges don’t want Covid+ students or faculty attending in-person classes. If so, there may be some pretty empty classrooms over the next few weeks.
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Again, our K-12s are in person and lots of kids not vaccinated. Lots of kids and staff out but we are making it work so far. I don’t get the highly vaxxed campuses having remote class.
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Colleges might decide to “make it work” for a few weeks too, but as I said this may involve some relatively empty classrooms. Substitute professors aren’t too common, and what percentage of a college class has to be out before it makes more sense to just to teach the class on-line? At the very least, hybrid may make some sense so the Covid+ students don’t fall too far behind.
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Oh, this one’s easy.
Highly vaxxed = elite.
Elite profs & many elite students & elite student parents value the promise of the ol’ gray matter highly and have an acute sense of “arc of one’s future”.
Virus famously does a number on brains; no knowing how that resolves over time.
There ya go. Not a primary concern of public K-12, more’s the pity, though is what is. Get the kids passing the tests, or near enough, and admin calls it good, parents have other concerns unless you’re in Lower Merion or New Trier or summat like that.
I think one of the issues is infrastructure. For example, local college has so many dining hall employees out sick that they can’t feed 1500 students every day. Vaccination required of all employees and students.
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Making it work means different things depending on the age of the students.
My pre-K - fifth grade school is missing half the staff due to Covid. We now have office staff teaching third grade. I am not a classroom teacher, yet the other day I was suddenly teaching fifth grade math (teacher left due to a sudden onset of symptoms). There are no subs, and who would even take the job?
I think colleges SHOULD be open and teach face-to-face. Professors can wear good masks, double mask, face shield, keep a distance, use a microphone etc. More are vaccinated than at the elementary level. The issue, as I see it, is the inability to get substitute professors. Some of these professors will definitely be out sick, and you can’t call in an office worker to teach.
Nobody will formally close the k-12 schools. Many will close on their own (temporarily) due to a lack of staff. Colleges that are in person might end up canceling some classes. Not sure what will happen if the dining hall workers all call out.
I don’t understand your post. I am clearly missing something.
How does highly vaxed = elite? Our state schools are highly vaxed and in person. They are excellent schools, but I would not call them “elite.”
K-12 is not all about passing the test and it’s all good. It’s about learning, problem solving, socialization, mental health, etc. Kids need to be in school. There is a mental health crisis going on, even in first grade….and this is a HUGE focus in the schools right now and something that admin is very focused on (it’s not just about “passing the test”). Schools are receiving huge grant money for social-emotional. My school partnered with a therapy practice and now has extra counselors in school twice a week to help address this ongoing crisis.
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Or alternatively, elite means lots of highly paid administrators who feel they have to “do something” and who are acutely sensitive to the potential for bad publicity if there happened to be an outbreak. Also more parents who are media savvy and would kick up a stink in the press if their kid got ill.
Of course there are also parents who are fed up about paying over the odds for an impaired college experience. But most elite US colleges have vastly more applicants than places so don’t really need to worry as much about pissing off those customers. Just as some teachers unions don’t really care about the captive “customers” at their public schools.
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But professors could presumably have a zoom class for a week if they are out with Covid but not feeling all that bad. Our D had a professor who had a family emergency and had to do class from home for a week and he just sent a zoom link for those days. If they are too sick to teach, I’m sure that happens with other illnesses too and there must be a plan as to what colleges do when that happens. My point is that omicron is more likely to be like any other illness that would take out a professor.
It’s different with K-12. I agree on the substitute issue and we are all running around covering for each other but we also have teachers zooming into the classroom from home and teaching while we take turns being in the class during our planning periods, etc. It’s not ideal but hopefully temporary and the kids are in school.
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The 5C’s are going online for the first two weeks and then will re-evaluate. Students can still move into their dorms on time. Claremont Colleges will begin spring semester with two weeks of remote learning - The Student Life
I agree with you about professors “zooming” in.
Our elementary school doesn’t allow any virtual right now, unfortunately. They should allow teachers to “zoom in” from home, but it’s doubtful- they would still need an adult to sit in the classroom (and there are no adults to sit in the classroom).
It varies by school, of course, but you’d be surprised. Often the plan is “don’t get sick.” I’ve seen profs nearly faint at the lectern trying to make it through a class. I’ve had to experiment with text-to-speech for teaching long classes with laryngitis. The problem is finding someone who knows your subject, can teach at the time, and can get up to speed very quickly on what your class is doing and the curriculum for the day. University faculty tend to have a lot more freedom in what and how they teach than K12 do, so you’re walking into an unknown. It’s frowned upon, but the last resort is often to cancel class and give an assignment instead.
If you’ve got a lot of people out at once, this falls apart.
People are always surprised by how catch-as-catch-can things are, especially with the buildings looking so solid and fancy.
One good thing to come out of this zooming and hybrid classes is the ability to still hold a class if you can’t be there is person. Last semester my son was telling me about one prof with a young child. The kid got an ear infection and couldn’t go to day care and the prof just temporarily switched to online. In the past, class would have been cancelled.
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This excerpt from your article is an important one for me:
“Students are the lowest risk population on planet Earth. Over the last six months, the risk of a person in the broader age group (15-24) dying of Covid or dying with Covid (the CDC does not clearly distinguish), was 0.001%. All or nearly all of those deaths were in a very specific subgroup: unvaccinated people with a medical comorbidity”.
My 2 kid’s university just confirmed in a Townhall meeting that they would not have an all remote learning period (The university already had a mix of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning for Spring 2022) and will start on 1/18/22. In the townhall, the administrators mentioned that anyone who was uncomfortable with in-person classes could sign up for the current remote classes available, but don’t expect any more remote sections to be added.
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I have to say that your university sounds awful in a multitude of ways. People should steer clear.
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This is the most logical thing I have read all day. Jan 2022 is very different than Jan 2021, yet the schools are freaking out.
Flu/Mono/general viruses have spread like wildfire in colleges throughout time. Flu shots have never until last year, been mandated. These kids are following all the rules, and yet they are being more restricted than adults, especially with Omicron.
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