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How to Keep Kids in School as Covid Cases Surge

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Being a parent of a school-age child has been trying over the past two years, to say the least. With each twist and turn in the COVID-19 pandemic, a new set of rules and regulations—not to mention worries—has kept parents constantly working and then reworking their routines to keep their school-age children safe. 

Many parents have come to realize that they have been waging two simultaneous wars—the more obvious one has been against a persistent virus. The less obvious war has been one against the recurrent disruptions in learning environments that have sent cascading ripples in the form of lower academic performance, absenteeism, and mental health concerns. 

At this point, parents all across the country are collectively realizing that their main objective should be to keep their kids in school, despite new variants and COVID surges. In-person learning is the most effective way for children to develop not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well. Furthermore, a keep-kids-in-school strategy can be a safe one, as long as parents and kids follow the necessary steps. Here’s what families and schools need to do to keep children in school, even as COVID cases surge. 

The Nature of COVID-19 Illness in Children 

For parents of school-age children, one of the major upsides of this pandemic has been that while many concerns have reasonably kept parents up at night, the imminent threat of the SARS-CoV-2 virus harming their immunocompetent children has not been one of them. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mercifully spared young children from severe illness, by and large. In fact, recent reporting from the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that 0 percent to 0.02 percent of all COVID cases in children have resulted in death. 

Historic measures to keep children out of school have largely been put into place to protect more vulnerable members of society (the elderly, the immunocompromised, and those with multiple comorbidities)—not because the virus has posed a direct threat to the children themselves. While there are certainly exceptions, especially in the case of the rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) that can follow even mild cases, parents who are sending their children to school can rest assured that they are not sending them into a viral pool that is certain to cause severe disease. Especially with the rise of the Omicron variant, which appears to be a milder form of the virus, children can still be safe in an in-person school setting. 

The Importance of Vaccinations for Children 5 and Over 

While COVID-19 illness seems to spare healthy children from severe disease, hospitalization, and death, not all children are as lucky. The people in our communities who are at the highest risk from COVID-19 are those who are immunocompromised— some of these at-risk are children. 

For this reason, it is very important for everyone in our society, including children, to get vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is available for children 5 to 17 years old. Vaccinations can lessen the severity of COVID-19 illness in children, can reduce the chance of long-term consequences from COVID-19 illness, and protect members of society who are immunocompromised by making it harder for the virus to spread. While the Omicron variant does seem to be more capable of evading vaccine immunity, vaccines have still been shown to be effective in provoking an antibody response against Omicron. 

Current CDC Guidance for Parents of Children in School 

For families with school-age children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided specific guidance for COVID-19 prevention. The CDC emphasizes that students get the most benefit from in-person education, so all prevention efforts should be focused on keeping kids in the classroom. 

Using the following precautions will help everyone inside and outside the classroom. 

The importance of masks 

The CDC notes that masks are an important prevention strategy in children ages two years and older, except for those with certain conditions that make mask-wearing unsafe. The CDC also notes that outside masking is not imperative, so children can have a masking break when venturing outside at various points throughout the school day. 

The importance of handwashing 

Proper handwashing is still at the forefront of all infection control guidelines. Washing hands with soap and water can help stop the spread of germs in all settings, including the classroom. Parents and educators can make handwashing fun by encouraging children to sing tunes like “Happy Birthday,” and using fun-smelling and child-friendly soaps. 

The importance of testing 

The CDC notes that schools should incorporate screening tests into their routine—and align them with community transmission levels—so that they can monitor infections within their school system and quickly track new cases. Parents and staff members should be on the same page about testing, expectations following positive tests, and return to school guidelines—all of which are discussed by the CDC directly. 

The importance of staying home when you are sick 

The CDC emphasizes that students should stay home when they are having signs of infection. From an isolation standpoint, it is important to know if the infection is COVID-19 or another respiratory virus, so the CDC encourages parents to test their children. If they are positive for COVID-19, they should isolate at home for five days and then wear a mask in the community for five additional days afterward. This strategy can help slow down the community transmission of the virus. 

What To Do if Your Child Is Exposed at School 

If your child is exposed at school, you may have questions about how to proceed. The best thing you can do to keep your child safe while optimizing their learning experience is to follow your school administration’s protocols. These protocols will likely evolve as cases wax and wane, especially with new variants. For questions and helpful resources, check out this page from the CDC about what to expect when it comes to school exposures. 

Research and materials for this article were compiled, written, and distributed on behalf of the National Public Health Information Coalition. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the various authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the National Public Health Information Coalition or its members. 

References: 

[1] Pfizer and BioNTech Provide Update on Omicron Variant. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-provide-update-omicron-variant 

[2] Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 

[3] Kids learn better in class than when studying from home, finds teacher survey. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/classroom-teaching-better-than-remote-learning-education/ 

[4] Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report. https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/ 

[5] For Parents: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/mis/mis-c.html 

[6] WHO sees more evidence that Omicron causes milder symptoms. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-sees-more-evidence-that-omicron-affects-upper-respiratory-tract-2022-01-04/ 

[7] Your Guide to Masks. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html?CDCAArefVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprevent-getting-sick%2Fhow-to-wear-cloth-face-coverings.html 

[8] When and How to Wash Your Hands. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html 

[9] Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 

[10] Know What to Expect at Your Child’s K-12 School or Early Care and Education Program. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/groups/expect-school-child-care.html