Hopefully none of this will be necessary if most are vaccinated by the fall.
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I used to hold out that vaccine hope. It varies, but my state/county have been awful. At the current rate, it will take 45 weeks just to vaccinate everyone in group 1(a) and teachers are in 1(b) and thatâs a big issue getting school here open full time in person. Healthy 18 year olds would literally be next year following 1© people. Maybe if the vulnerable in 1(a) are vaccinated, then it will not be as urgent to do the students. On the other hand, maybe college students will get the jump and the colleges will take over to direct vaccinate.
Healthy adults 16-64 are the last group to get vaccinated in my state, so it could be well into fall before my kids see a shot and then it would have to be at school- in another state.
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I donât think we will be waiting that long for vaccines. Gottlieb thinks anyone who wants one can get one by April.
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But both Biden and Fauci are âhopingâ for vaccinations for anyone who wants one to be by late summer, not by April.
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Interesting explanation where the bottleneck is in the process and why other drug companies canât just help make more.
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I hope heâs right!! At the rate our county in PA is vaccinating people Iâll be lucky to get one by the end of the year if not later.
People keep saying âat this rateââŠbut we wonât be staying at this rate.
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Well I donât know why the discrepancy then. Shouldnât we know exactly when we will have each of these vaccines delivered? Listen to the Gottlieb interview. Itâs short. He seems sure of when these vaccines will be out for use and itâs spring not summer. Now, maybe Fauci means people will be completely vaccinated by summer? That makes sense if vaccines are readily available by end of April. If one gets a two-dose vaccine that would mean they wouldnât be fully vaccinated until summer. I donât know why Gottlieb would lie.
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With regard to whether colleges will make the vaccine âmandatoryâ: in their town hall last week, an administrator said while they have not rendered a decision on whether the vaccine will be required once it is widely available, the college is âstrongly consideringâ making the vaccine mandatory once it is widely available.
Also, Dr. Catherine Epstein (Dean of the Faculty at Amherst College) said theyâre hopeful that they wonât even have to offer remote learning as an option in the Fall 2021 semester.
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Thatâs an unusual statement, although each institution is different. First of all, they may HAVE to include it as an option because itâs too early at this point to understand how the pandemic will look come September. Second, why NOT build on best practices from this year and work remote into the set of modalities offered? It will increase access to instruction and allow professors to choose what works best. Third, if there is one thing that the education establishment (preK-Grad School) should have learned, its that flexibility is key. Pandemics donât come around every day, fortunately, but bad weather - as just one example - can and does. And we canât anticipate the next crisis. Itâs just best, IMO, for our ed institutions to be able to pivot seamlessly to another modality so that progress toward the degree isnât compromised due to some hiccup (small or big).
I donât think LACs see it this way. Kids go to those schools for small class sizes and lots of personal interaction. Itâs the number one reason why a student chooses a LAC over a research U. Those kids and those profs want class in person.
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I expect they are saying this to keep yield as high as possible. Of course they donât know what Fall will really look like. The UC system also already said they are planning to primarily be in-person in the Fall too. I am sure other colleges have said this, and more are to come the closer we get to May 1.
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Given the rapidity with which this virus mutates, it seems unlikely the situation will be under control by the fall. I assume all schools have remote plans as back up.
I donât disagree with this. If Fall isnât more normal, I expect we will see more students taking time off than did this year. Which is going to put even more financial pressure on the colleges. Bowdoinâs President is already on record saying that they might have to become need aware, even given their high endowment per student.
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So do the faculty and students of public universities and community colleges. The faculty I know all want classes in person, however theyâre only going to step back inside a classroom when they believe itâs safe for themselves, their families, and their students. If the virus isnât under control this fall then the fall schedule will look a lot like current semester.
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Do you think faculty should teach in person if they are vaccinated? Pfizer and Moderna have each committed to 300M vaccines in the US (so 600M total) by the end of summerâŠthat is enough for everyone who wants one.
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roycroftmom- i usually agree with everything you write. but for the sake of my 2 college kids and my HS kid - i hope you are wrong here.
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Understood. Iâm just replying to @JBStillFlyingâs comment that schools should keep integrating remote learning even after the pandemic has subsided. I donât see that happening at most LACs. Itâs necessary right now but I donât think remote learning should continue at these schools. Right now, at least at Bowdoin, they donât believe in hybrid classes and the philosophy is that online classes have a different pedagogy so classes are either taught all remote with best practices for remote learning or, this semester, as in-person classes that operate as ânormalâ. There are no classes that meet in person that are also available remotely and it sounds like they wonât ever plan that.
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