Then the professors wear masks. Not ideal but, just like anyone who has reasons to be more careful, they could mask. A class that’s 100 percent vaccinated including the professor and the professor in a mask? He’s not going to catch Covid.
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Because there is no real science that says, if the county is low Covid and highly vaccinated, then the vaccinated group has to mask.
Some of these college campuses are pretty close to being bubbles of almost exclusively vaccinated people. Putting on masks is, I guess, extra insurance. But kids were never catching Covid in class or at the library. They would catch it “after hours”. I’m sure there will be a lot less of that on the campuses that are highly vaccinated. I just am not understanding why masking in class makes any sense. FYI, Notre Dame just announced no masks for the vaccinated except in a few locations on campus where visitors can go like the student union, museum, etc.
It seems that many college students can mask for classes and will happily do so.
But, there are many students for which masking in classes presents a problem…those majoring in language, theater/MT, voice, woodwind/brass instruments, not to mention all the associated performances and activities. Tough to do any of those activities with masks on, and I get people who don’t want to do that, or don’t want to pay for the affected experience. It’s a no win situation.
I don’t know when this Delta spike will end, but hope things will normalize somewhat when that happens.
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At our HS, which thankfully made the decision to go back in-person from the get-go last fall, they installed plexiglass barriers on any teacher’s desk who wanted it. D21’s AP Bio teacher had the plexiglass, wore a mask AND a clear face shield, marked a red-tape perimeter around her desk, which the kids were forbidden to cross, and NEVER got up from her desk, or came out from behind her fortress the whole year. Additionally, the kids were required to wear masks school-wide and their desks were spaced 6 feet apart. That’s 6 or 7 layers of protection. No way she was getting Covid from those kids.
With all that going on, it wasn’t surprising that her teaching was not up to par, resulting in abysmal AP Bio scores in her classes.
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I assume that teacher and her students weren’t vaccinated. What if everyone is vaccinated?
This was last fall, so no vaccine yet. I’m pretty sure they a requiring the vaccine in the HS for this year (which they can do because it’s a parochial school).
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That we know of. There’s little to no testing of anyone who isn’t sick enough to be hospitalized or go to their doctor and request it. The percentages are worthless. I also find it ironic that now it’s fine that people are being infected because their chances of hospitalization and death are less. That was basically the case all last year of the under 30 crowd but they were constantly castigated for even thinking about allowing themselves to be exposed and gain immunity that way because of all the terrible things the virus did to various organs, long Covid, clotting issues and so forth. Now as long as your vaccinated it’s fine to get Covid, even though long Covid is still a problem and the virus can still cause all the same issues.
The vaccines were sold to the public as a ticket back to “normal”. As it turns out that’s not going to be the case. There’s a reason the CDC isn’t tracking breakthrough infections large scale bc it undermines that message. Masking alone without the other protocols will do very little to deal with breakthrough infections. Schools need their revenue and the masking is just a “look we’re on board” gesture.
That’s great. So then that teacher won’t have to have all of that PPE. Maybe she will be comfortable with just wearing a mask herself.
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If there are no answers to your questions that will satisfy (the one I provided was directly from a school one of my kids attends, not something I created, and an answer that I’m quite comfortable with), then it’s probably time to stop asking the same questions.
Maybe it’s time we all focused on the schools our own kids will be attending and whether that works for our own families and not on judging what’s happening in places that don’t apply to us and whether that should/could work for other families.
With that, I’m going to take my own advice and peace out of this whole thread.
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@CheddarcheeseMN I’m concerned about that too—that asymptomatic, vaccinated students may test positive for the required Covid testing and not be able to move into their dorms; and then what? Will they be unable to attend all the in-person classes they signed up for, getting behind with no online option to keep up with their class work as incoming freshman. After all we’ve been through that would be sad!
I wonder if the UC’s will require a negative Covid test for dorm move-ins like the CSU’s? They typically start about a month after the CSU’s.
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There is Israeli research that covid vaccination is only 50% effective against infection and UK research that vaccinated people can transmit the disease. The numbers of 1-2% infections are based on incomplete information as people don’t fall seriously ill, don’t come forward and are not tracked.
As I said up-thread, my son and his friends, all fully vaccinated and healthy, athletic kids, got covid after mingling with other people in a club in Spain. From the 5 kids present, 3 tested positive from which two had symptoms and one did not. Neither needed to go to the hospital but they stayed in an AirBNB for two weeks until they finally all tested negative and flew back. The symptoms included fatigue and if this had happened during school, it would have interfered with the learning for sure.
In addition, Stanford had a break-out where 7 vaccinated students got Covid and had symptoms. There are very few students on the campus during the summer, and despite that 7 kids got symptoms. If the dorms are full, an infection will go though them like wild fire
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If there are no symptoms that’s the point. Seriousl. Zero Covid is never the end game. It’s endemic. It’s here to stay
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I heard the Old Navy masks are popular for everyday. We wear these Sanctuary Brand Masks that have a built in filter layer. Very comfy and lightweight. On the plane and in the airport we will have better protection.
Much is still unknown about Delta, but at some point this surge will pass. Finding the right balance is tricky for colleges and it does feel like they are a bit behind on things and not sharing enough information. In my boring mom life I’m super happy to put on a mask and help out. However, I am a little bummed my son has to wear a mask in the beginning of college when he is trying to meet people and get acclimated. I want the students to be able to gather and they need to have fun. But, it will pass I think and better to be safer for everyone, including those who can’t protect themselves as well. Hopefully his school will get a nice bubble going. 
Hopefully he will pass the tests.
I’m super ready to see major mandates roll out so urban school kids can also have more normalcy. I’m even up for disinformation censorship. People’s choices 100% affect others. Bribes aren’t working.
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Don’t like masks? Go to college in the South.
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Nope because those kids aren’t vaccinated in the same numbers down South and neither are the neighborhoods around the campuses.
Go through a dorm like wildfire? We don’t know that.
Wait, so you said HE when referring to a college professor and SHE when referring to a high school teacher? C’mon now. I’m a professor and over half of my department is female (business discipline) 
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What does that 50 percent mean? I thought all of the percentages of effectiveness were for hospitalization and death, not testing positive for Covid.
In new news, J&J proves to be 94% effective against hospitalization. We should not really be caring if people get breakthrough infections if vaccine rates are high. Then all of those vaccinated people are really really protected against hospitalization. Wasn’t that the point?
Ooph. Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. I never know if I should write he/she in those situations!
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Actually there are several colleges in the South that have recently announced mask mandates. In New Orleans, Tulane, Loyola, Xavier and Univ of New Orleans all have mask mandates now.