Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) Mod warnings in OP

jrosen · 25-08-2021 03:59PM

Hi all, hope everyone is feeling Ok with the impending return of schools.

We got emails from both schools outlining rules around covid. Mask wearing, when to stay home etc. Seems the same as last year.

Locally there isn't much talk of cases or indeed any sort of breakout. Most of my kids friends have been vaccinated and mine have had their first shot.

I really want this school year to run well. I hope parents do whats right and keep their kids home when sick and get them tested.

SusanC10 · 25-08-2021 04:08PM

Doing ok about the return this time around as opposed to previous times since this Pandemic started.

Both Husband and I fully vaccinated and both Kids have 1 dose each which is the best that we could have hoped for in the circumstances.

No word from either school yet - 1 Primary, 1 Secondary. Both reopen next week.

fits · 25-08-2021 04:12PM

I’m very worried. Four year old twins. One is starting primary and the other is 50:50 mainstream and special preschools. He has a condition and some of his classmates would be very vulnerable so he didn’t have access to a full timetable for over four months past year. I hope that doesn’t happen again and I don’t want him to get covid either.

Lisha · 25-08-2021 06:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117802625#Comment_117802625

I do hope it goes well for you. (For everyone really too but it’s harder when they are younger and gave additional needs I think)

fits · 26-08-2021 06:38AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117803117#Comment_117803117

Thank you. Yeah it’s a nervy start to school year for a lot of us.

shesty · 26-08-2021 07:24AM

Two heading to the younger end primary today, and one to ECCE next week.Fully expect ECCE child to catch everything going this year due to the sheltered life he has lived the last 18 months.I am less worried about covid, than many of the other things he could pick up, especially following a trip to the hospital with croup 2 months ago.

The 2 in school, what can I do?They need to be educated.All I can do is the same I have been doing for 2 years now.Cross my fingers and hope for the best.There's risk no matter what I do, there always has been, and they must be educated, so our family has to just get on with it.

fits · 26-08-2021 07:39AM

My boy in preschool has had a few episodes of croup also. Frightening stuff. And we couldn’t go to hospital without covid tests unless he was really bad. Husband had to take him outside in cold air to get it to settle. I wonder if he’d be more susceptible to covid if airways get inflamed like that. I don’t know.

shesty · 26-08-2021 03:54PM

Yes my girls have had it Fits, but this was a whole other level.He was badly struggling to breathe, so we brought him straight in and they were ok with it, gave him steroids.First time. He also seems a little more susceptible to chesty coughs and I am worried because his immune system has had very little to do really for the last year.Not worried about covid tbh, it's the other respiratory stuff that is more likely and has given us a few frights that I am concerned about.

fits · 26-08-2021 09:52PM

Where are all the ‘close the schools ‘ crowd this year?. Or “I can’t go to get my hair cut but they say schools are safe. “. They’re gone very quiet.

JTMan · 29-08-2021 08:12AM

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/children-struck-wave-illness-winter-bugs-surge-lockdown-covid-0rf3tnkxb

RSV is soaring in schools in the UK and the US. Case numbers are significantly above where things normally are this time of year.

It's not covid but it is another thing to add into the mix with the risk of hospitals been put under pressure.

is_that_so · 29-08-2021 10:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117817815#Comment_117817815

Isn't this likely to be an intense but short term problem? It is something you'd expect to settle to normal levels quite quickly after a surge.

JTMan · 29-08-2021 11:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117818010#Comment_117818010

Assuming the cause is 'immune deficit', then yes, you would expect things to settle down after a surge but the surge will last quite some time.

The NY Times reports that the RSV surge began in May 2021 and is now getting worse as schools return. i.e. the surge will go on for months. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/well/live/rsv-respiratory-synctial-virus.html

And this is on top of covid cases. A separate NY Times article this week documents the effect Delta has had on childrens hospitals as schools return in the US. Some ICU units for children are in "chaos" ... https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/us/children-covid-delta.html

Hopefully the 'immune deficit' principal will not also apply to flu this Winter. Too early to tell yet on what will happen with flu but the impact on RSV is clear.

JTMan · 29-08-2021 07:54PM

Concerning comments from Scott Gottieb on how the return to schools is going in the US ....

https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1432011889903644675

29-08-2021 08:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117820352#Comment_117820352

Context - the equivalent of 4 here. A small number of kids with always end up in hospital with respiratory viruses. 1 or 2 days maximum in almost every instance. There is an abundance of caution when dealing with children and the will often be admitted in a scenario where adults would not

Mr.CoolGuy · 30-08-2021 08:41AM

Local school went back in last Thursday. Today an entire junior class is out as close contacts because one of the children tested positive on Friday. A set of parents managed to send their symptomatic child in on the first day and shut down the entire class for a week.

Awful parents are a minority, but there are still 4 or 5 in every class and they will continue to wreck everything for the forseeable.

noplacehere · 30-08-2021 09:34AM

Very high risk teacher back to school today. So sick of being at home so I’m really glad in some ways and super nervous in others. Got AstraZeneca back before in April before it was taken out of my age group so here’s hoping it works well!

Toodles_27 · 30-08-2021 10:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117821898#Comment_117821898

If any consolation, my very high risk vulnerable mother got AZ in April also. I had her for dinner on BH Mon evening. I came down with symptoms Tuesday morning and subsequently tested positive (fully vax pfizer). Thankfully Mam never tested positive and it would appear it protected her.

The very best of luck on the return to the classroom.

awec · 30-08-2021 11:28AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117804546#Comment_117804546

This summer has been a complete nightmare for us with sickness with creche/ECCE kids. By far the worst period we've ever had. Coughs and temperatures galore, we've had about an 8 week solid period where there was always someone who had a cough and temperature. Always tested, never Covid.

shesty · 30-08-2021 11:30AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117822401#Comment_117822401

My youngest has been one on one with a childminder for the last year, with just his siblings there too outside of school, so I expect the coming months to basically be a continuous infection of some sort.

awec · 30-08-2021 11:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117822412#Comment_117822412

Our GP was telling us they've been seeing a lot of the usual winter stuff in the spring / summer months instead. I think I'll lose the plot entirely if there's another cough or temperature in the next few weeks.

Maybe we've just been really unlucky but I'd be making sure I'm well stocked up on Calpol and Nurofen! 😀

shesty · 30-08-2021 11:35AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117822429#Comment_117822429

The croup episode with no.3 recently made me realise that everything in the house needed restocking, so we are ready🤦‍♀️Well.As ready as we can be.

Might add in some probiotics to that stockpile though.

awec · 30-08-2021 11:37AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117822438#Comment_117822438

Every household must have a drawer full of these yokes?

Widdensushi · 30-08-2021 02:51PM

Can't remember when I last bought calpol/similar, it was pre covid anyway, not a sniffle between the four kids since this started, probably make up for it this year..

noplacehere · 30-08-2021 03:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117822011#Comment_117822011

Thank you. That’s lovely to hear! I’m secondary too so I’m hoping between vaccinations and the distancing still there all will be well!

30-08-2021 03:18PM

My kids are getting a puff of Nasaleze in each nostril before school in the morning.

The active ingredient is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, also the active ingredient in Taffix, which has some (small) evidence of effectiveness (78%) against Covid and lots of evidence of effectiveness against viral infection more generally. Nasaleze tends to be a bit more widely available and a bit cheaper, since the company hasn't done covid-specific studies of its own, and it can be used by pregnant/breastfeeding women and children over 3.

Thought I'd mention it, for people concerned about their kids bringing the virus home to anyone vulnerable.

awec · 30-08-2021 03:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117823647#Comment_117823647

Snake oil.

30-08-2021 03:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117823681#Comment_117823681

Perhaps. I've used Nasaleze for a long time for allergies and it works well. The papers re: viral use were enough for me to give it a "what they hey" go, anyway.

CruelSummer · 31-08-2021 07:18AM

So NPHET want to put masks on Primary School children? A New Normal? What about teaching & learning or the fact they won’t be able to keep them on? What an absolutely disgusting suggestion.

Cannot see parents or teachers agreeing to this. Teaching & learning would be severely affected, learning outcomes & children’s development would be severely curtailed. They’ve already lost so much school time. Let’s see will people who actually know their stuff in this area speak up.

Most adults are vaccinated now, we’re supposed to be getting back to more normality. Are we really going to let the dinosaurs that haven’t a clue about this area get away with this?

This is clearly a ploy to force the vaccine in the under 12’s if it gets approved for that age group.

I’m quite confident if there’s research being done on mask wearing for under 12’s, it would demonstrate that in this age group is not only ineffective, it’s akin to abuse.

Sammy2012 · 31-08-2021 07:23AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117826012#Comment_117826012

Fully agree with this. I was hoping the requirements for teachers wearing masks in the classrooms as it is pointless when there's up to 35 unmasked in some rooms and just the teacher in a mask.

SusanC10 · 31-08-2021 07:24AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117826012#Comment_117826012

Where are you reading about NPHET wanting Masks for Primary ?

Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) **Mod warnings in OP**

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Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) Mod warnings in OP