September 2021
Meredith Deliso, Pediatricians with kids speak out about delta surge fears, ABC News, September 19, 2021.
10Boston Staff, Mass. Confirms 2,024 New COVID Cases, 16 More Deaths, 10Boston, September 17, 2021.
Katie Kindelan, With school year upended by COVID-19, mom says, ‘I wake up every day frustrated,’ ABC News, September 17, 2021. (“We are about to start week 5 of school. Each child has missed 3 days due to illness/quarantine already. By Friday, it’ll be 7 days, or 25% of the school year. There is no remote-attendance option. These are actual absences, missed classroom time, make up tests/quizzes later.” …. She added, “I know how lucky I am, and even so, THIS IS UNSUSTAINABLE.”)
Liz Szabo, Scientists Examine Kids’ Unique Immune Systems as More Fall Victim to Covid, Kaiser Health News, September 17, 2021. (“Although hospitalizations are declining nationwide, some of the most serious consequences of infection are only now emerging…. Two months into the delta surge, hospitals throughout the South are seeing a second wave of children with a rare but life-threatening condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C.”)
Ariana Eunjung ChaIn, Parenting a child under 12 in the age of delta: ‘It’s like a fire alarm every day,’ The Washington Post, September 16, 2021
Nick Judin, Pediatric Diabetes Surge In Mississippi: Doctors Concerned COVID-19 Is To Blame, Mississippi Free Press, September 15, 2021.
Beth Mole, COVID in children: Infections skyrocket 30X, now account for 30% of cases, Ars Technica, September 14, 2021.
Dale Mezzacappa and Johann Calhoun, Three schools in Philadelphia temporarily close due to COVID cases, Chalk Beat Philadelphia, September 14, 2021.
“After about two weeks of in-person school, three schools in Philadelphia have temporarily closed because of COVID cases…The school district has a variety of COVID mitigation efforts in place, including air purifiers in classrooms and other spaces, social distancing, universal masking, and some testing of symptomatic students and all staff.”
John Bailey, Student Quarantines — Next Major School Disruption, The 74 Million, September 15, 2021.
“The disruptions this time will not come from state-mandated closures of school districts, but instead from an accumulating number of students who are in quarantine. Students who test positive or are simply exposed at school will have to quarantine for up to 14 days at a time and sometimes longer, depending on the status of their family members.. This is already playing out in parts of the country, with 90,000 students forced into quarantined-imposed remote learning instead of being in class.”
Daniella Silva, More kids hospitalized with Covid, but experts aren’t sure if they’re sicker, too, NBC News, September 16, 2021.
“Dr. Inci Yildirim, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Yale Medicine, said it was very uncommon earlier in the pandemic to see “a teenager who was intubated for days in the ICU. But now, since more children are being infected, more children are being hospitalized…. This is the first time I’ve seen this many pediatric patients with Covid-19 in the hospital,” she said. This was not the case 8-10 months ago.”
Heather Morrison, Springfield Public Schools add permanent virtual school as interest in remote learning continues to increase in Massachusetts amid COVID pandemic, MSN Mass Live, September 14, 2021.
Rachel Silberstein, First days of school bring COVID-19 cases to Capital Region districts, Times Union, September 14, 2021.
JiaYing Grygiel, My kid got COVID at school. On his 4th day, Today, September 13, 2021.
When the school tells you they’re doing everything they can, that’s a big, fat lie. You can come up with a real remote option. Let kids go remote until vaccines are available. You can go hybrid so there are fewer people breathing in a room. You can have classes outside. You don’t punish parents waiting for a vaccine by forcing them to unenroll their kids. You need to be transparent, and let all the parents in the school know when someone tests positive. You don’t let political pressure to keep schools open trump our kids’ safety. We are trusting you with our children. You need a better plan for students under 12. Because what happens if you don’t? Kids get COVID.
JiaYing Grygiel
Christopher Gavin, ‘Hundreds’ of Mass. schools still waiting for state’s COVID test supplies, Boston.com, September 13, 2021.
Mitch Dudek, Protesters call for CPS to institute a remote learning option, Chicago Sun Times, September 13, 2021.
Stephanie, Thomson, Working parents with vulnerable kids face a painful choice: In-person school or job loss, September 13, 2021.
Catherine Carrera, Newark parents worried their kids might get COVID in school, poll says, September 13, 2021.
Tina Reed, Parents search for COVID vaccine trials for their children, Axioz, September 13, 2021.
Christina Veiga, In last ditch effort for remote learning, some NYC parents plan to boycott first day of school, September 10, 2021.
Katelyn Jetelina, School outbreaks and what it means for hospital capacity, Yur Local Epidemiologist (Substack), September 9, 2021.
Meghan Mangrum, ‘We’re drowning’: As COVID closes schools, some students are left with little instruction, USA Today, September 9, 2021.
Holly Yan, Child Covid-19 hospitalizations reach a new high as schools reopen. That’s not the only reason to protect kids from Delta, doctors say, Apple News, September 8, 2021.
ABC News, Nearly 252,000 children in US test positive for COVID amid back-to-school season, ABC News, September 7, 2021.
Yoree Hoh, Child Covid-19 Cases Rise in States Where Schools Opened Earliest: Number of infections climbed, Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2021.
Erin Einborn, Worried about Covid, most parents no longer want kids in school full time, survey finds, NBC News, September 1, 2021.
CBS Boston, 7 Massachusetts Districts to Offer Full-Time Remote Learning this Fall, September 1, 2021.
August 2021
Liora Engel-Smith, UVM Medical Center under pressure from Delta variant, Vermont Digger, August 20, 2021.
Jemima McEvoy, Alabama Sets New Record For Kids Hospitalized With Covid,” Forbes, August 20, 2021.
Meredith Wadman, A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta, Science, August 19, 2021.
Centers for Disease Control, Delta Variant: What We Know About the Science, update as of August 19, 2021.
Scott Souza, Renewed Calls For Remote Learning Options On North Shore, Patch, August 18, 2021 (“Homeschool should not be the only option. People want to keep their kids safe, or high-risk family members, but also be a part of their community. Remote offered that. I don’t understand why it is not being discussed and offered.”)
Caroline Vakil, NIH director: COVID-19 infections among children ‘very worrisome’ , The Hill, August 15, 2021.
Elisha Fieldstadt, North Texas runs out of pediatric ICU beds amid Covid surge,” NBC News, August 13, 2021.
Andrea Michelson, Rates of children hospitalized with COVID have reached an all-time high in the US, Business Insider, August 12, 2021.
“Are vaccines becoming less effective at preventing Covid infection? Financial Times.
Kristen K Coleman, et al., Viral Load of SARS-CoV-2 in Respiratory Aerosols Emitted by COVID-19 Patients while Breathing, Talking, and Singing,” Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2021.
Bianca Vázquez Toness (The Great Divide), ‘We’re being set up for failure’: Massachusetts’ hard line against remote learning this year has left some families feeling hopeless, Boston Globe, August 31, 2021.
Naomi Martin and Bianca Vázquez Toness (The Great Divide), Mass. leaders hope this school year will be back to normal — with no remote learning. Is that realistic? Boston Globe, August 16, 2021.
Dan Sinker, Parents Are Not Okay: We’re not even at a breaking point anymore. We’re broken, The Atlantic, August 22, 2021.
Source: WCVB Breakthrough cases, delta variant: COVID-19 updates for Massachusetts
MA Parents for Remote Learning Options 