ND put out the update to the covid protocol for fall.
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I know our kidsā schools arenāt representative of all the US schools, but Iām so glad to hear that schools are requiring masks on campus other than private office or dorms. I just think that without the mandate, kids can forget and or feel pressured not to wear masks and it just leads to potential super spreaders since vaccinated people can get Covid or can be carriers. Iām also glad for weekly testing. Anything to get them to have a safe in person is worth it. I think the kids who are in college already probably did weekly anyway. When I watched the UCSD orientation videos, kids were showing day in a life, which included their weekly testing. It wasnāt a big deal to them. Glad my son wonāt be the first class to have to deal with this. Iām sure it helps having others who have gone thru this.
Tomorrow we will be out of 10 day isolation hell got my husband (and for us). Iām done operating a room service venue at my home and once I have the confidence that heās not infectious, Iāll have one more parent to help take my D24 to practices. Itās been tough the past few days. For his 50th, COVID husband ate dinner on the patio while we ate in the kitchen. We could see him through the patio glass door, so it wasnāt a completely lonely dinner 
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Well I know Iām alone here but Iām not super excited about the vaccinated kids having to wear masks this fall. In fact it makes me kind of sad. My son was vaccinated mostly to take his mask off & not get tested weekly. Heās a thoughtful kid so of course he also wants to keep others safe. That being said - masks are WAY better than online classes so I will support whatever it takes to prevent that.
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Not alone, I am happy that so far sons school is not requiring mask for vaccinated.
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Iām with you. What I really donāt want is t he vaccinated tested regularly. I get if they are a contact but otherwise no. We donāt go around testing vaccinated people in any other situation.
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I completely support the wearing of masks.
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My biggest hope (well beyond world peace, etc) is that college can be as close to normal as possible this year, with in-person classes, in-person extracurriculars, in-person labs and other educational experiences, in-person dining halls, social gatherings, spectator sports, etc.
I would certainly love it if they could be mask-free. But to me, at this point, masks in official indoor spaces (except when eating) and testing are two minor prices to pay to get those other experiences back. Iām doubtful that vaccinated (or unvaccinated, although at my kidsā school there should be about 99% compliance) kids will wear them at night socially, and Iām ok with that. But Iām especially ok with that because I hope and believe they will have regular testing.
Last year, high cadence testing nipped transmission in the bud. It totally worked, and I expect that coupled with vaccinations this year, it will ensure that covid does not circulate and therefore there will be precious few (perhaps close to zero) kids isolating after the first week or two. On the other hand, without testing, the virus can continue to spread among even this highly vaccinated population, and I think the odds of my kids catching it (perhaps at unmasked parties) are higher, and they may miss a week of school due to illness, as most of the breakthrough cases Iām hearing about do have people feeling lousy, although no where close to hospital-worthy. Testing is super easy/convenient on campus and I think will ensure that their campus becomes a pretty safe bubble when added to their strongly enforced vaccine mandate. I think my kids will also like knowing that they are covid-free so they donāt experience any worry about spreading the virus unwittingly.
I personally am very irritated that most kids will have to start the semester masking indoors in most school locations, but I also agree with Homerdog that of course we donāt know how long that will last. Schools that are saying on August 7th that there will be no masking may change their mind and mask all semester; schools that are currently saying masks will be required all semester may drop that requirement after a few weeks if testing shows there are no cases on campusāweāve seen schools adjust to circumstances (as they should). I think testing (with great results) is likely to lead to dropping of masks on many campuses; the testing will give administration proof that it is a safe community.
I admit Iām crushed that it wonāt be quite as carefree this fall as Iād hoped, but I do think weāll see a huge positive impact from vaccine mandates, and testing and masking in the beginning will probably help some campuses clear out any breakthrough transmission and hopefully lead to smooth semesters for all 
. It just has to be infinitely better than last year!!!
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I think we just have to recognize that the situation is very fluid. College administrators have to be scared to death of outbreaks on campus, especially after so many of them screwed it up a year ago. Donāt get too happy or sad about the situation with your particular kidās school, itās bound to change. Whatever colleges say today really has little bearing on what will be happening a month from now. Even schools where the governor has tied their hands as far as what they can require (looking at you Texas and Florida!) at some point will resort to online classes if they have to in the event of an outbreak. Clearly masks are preferable to that, as much as we hate to go back to them.
The reason so many of us were anxious to get vaxxed was because we were anxious for things to get back to normal, especially for our young adult children. And here we are staring at uncertainty and restrictions once again. All of it is still better than kids sitting in their parentsā house isolated from the world, so letās hope the masks and continued vaccination does the trick.
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It seems like this thing is rather cyclical but the schools have realized how important protecting the in person classroom and residential experience is to their customers. They have had a year and change to figure out what works well and we have more vaccinated. So should be better than last year. It will be very interesting to see how well-funded strict mandate schools fare. I think even they are wise to control the opening with temporary masks and testing after student travel periods. Then there is whether they will need to keep a bubble or not with sports, etc. I guess that depends on COVID.
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At D21ās college, all students living in residence halls must take a COVID 19 test (molecular) within 7 days of their assigned move-in date and upload negative test at least 48 hours before move-in date.
Any other CSUāers have to do this? Iām stressed even through she is vaccinated.
Yes i have a CSU kid too. Sheās been wearing three masks and sanitizing her hands like crazy because she wants the positive result. Itās definitely a little nerve wracking! (She is also vaccinated)
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Three masks? Dare I say thatās overkill. I think this last year has freaked some kids out way too much. We need to live in the reality that catching Covid while vaccinated is very very unlikely! Like ONE percent of vaccinated people will get a breakthrough infection
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No, thatās not true. Vaccinated people are getting Delta, but itās a very low percentage who will be hospitalized. Vaccinated people are also contagious when they have the Delta variant.
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She wants to move in to her dorm. Sheās doing the overkill thing in part bc we were just exposed to covid by two family members who got covid while being fully vaccinated. She would be heartbroken if she doesnāt get to move into her dorm or start classes right away. Itās just been a stressful long 18 months for these kids so while I know she doesnāt need to be that extreme it gives her more peace of mind in these final days before her covid test.
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Nope one percent of the cases are vaccinated. Iāve read that a number of times and itās true on our countyās website too that has been charting cases of vaccinated positives since Dec. In addition, almost all of those are elderly or have underlying conditions. In our county, 90 percent of breakthrough infections were over 60 or/and had underlying conditions.
It makes me sad when I see young people so stressed out and wearing three masks. Thatās not even a thing. Iām afraid kids like that have really been changed from this pandemic. How will they ever feel normal again?
And again - one percent is 1.6 million people so we are all likely going to know some of them but the chances are very low that we will catch Covid.
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Why do you feel the need to judge someone elseās choices WRT to wearing a mask? This is not the place to be debating what someoneās child feels is right for them. You seem to be very hung up on mask wearing and mandates, especially for someone whose kidsā colleges are not requiring them. No need to impose your personal beliefs re COVID and masks on what someone elseās child prefers to do.
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All I know is our two family members were 40 years old, healthy, fully vaccinated, got covid, got sick and we were exposed to them.
So pardon my daughter if sheās choosing to be extra cautious right now so she can get a negative covid result so she can go to college. Seems like a responsible kid to me.
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The stats you are citing mostly contain people who felt sickly and then were tested for Covid. The stats for asymptomatic spread among the vaxxed certainly are much higher but those people donāt get tested unless they need to. I too am concerned that my vaxxed kid will test positive for Covid upon arrival at his school leading him to miss the orientation trip and maybe a lot of other things. The chance is more than 1%.
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I apologize. My concern is, in the bigger picture, some people are now too scared of Covid and unable to live a normal existence. I have a friend in CA who knows multiple kids like this. Many are over the top so cautious. Have barely left the house in 18 months. Seem worried all of the time -honestly way more worried than they should be. There has to be a balance between being cautious based on science and not letting Covid take over the life of a healthy teenager. I understand your D wants to test negative. I get it. Three masks seems like she doesnāt understand the science. Maybe staying home more and wearing a mask if she goes to a store makes sense but not three masks. We are going to have D take a rapid test the week before we leave and then have her be a little more careful when sheās out and about but she wouldnāt be doing anything over the top that doesnāt make sense and would only accomplish stressing her out.
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We live in California. We have been masked since day one because it is required in our area and we are happy to oblige. My daughter is not terrified of Covid. What she does want is to be able to move in to her dorm in a couple of weeks and start classes. Like I said previously, the three masks is just a temporary way for her to feel better about trying to secure a negative result-she has a lot riding on it.
If she didnāt have this covid test coming up she would just be following the normal mask mandates we have here. I can assure you she is hardly ever home because sheās out there trying to enjoy her final summer before leaving. She is socializing plenty, so no need to be concerned. The three masks is making her less stressed, not more. Once she gets her hopefully negative covid result she will go back to her normal one mask that is required.
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