By Roger Caldwell
It does not matter your age, your race, and if you are poor or wealthy, there is a distant virus’ cousin out here, who is more dangerous, than the first. If you are twelve and over, you have the option to protect yourself with a vaccination that can protect you from dying, but you still can catch the virus.
America has done a terrible job this summer preparing for school, and the virus because the leaders thought the conditions were improving. In the middle of June, and the beginning of July, it appeared that America had turned the corner, and it seemed like smooth sailing. In some cities, like San Francisco, the vaccination rates are around 76% to 80%, and in some hospitals there were only 10 or fewer citizens who had the virus.
President Biden was bragging that over 68% of Americans had received their first vaccine shot, and hospitals were starting to get a break. We heard a lot about herd immunity, and the country was seeing things going in the right direction.
Many of the medical experts had talked about variants, but they never expected the Delta variant to be so dangerous and deadly. With the initial covid-19, one person impacted 3 people, but with the new Delta variant, one person had the capacity to infect 10 people, and more children were affected. Children wards in hospitals all over the country are almost filled to capacity, and children under 12 cannot get vaccinated.
As school leaders, teachers, school workers and parents argue what to do next, the conditions get worse, more people get sick and more die. The virus is airborne, and it is very important that the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) set up guidelines for this coming school year.
With the magnitude and speed of the Delta variant, it would appear our leaders would slow down the opening of the schools and establish a plan and guidelines. The coronavirus created mass disruption of the 2019- 2020 school year, because there was no plan for distance learning, and it happened so quickly.
In January 2020, the first virus cases were discovered, and by February some schools were closed, and by the last week in March, the CDC recommended that all schools close. Eventually, 48 states, 4 US territories, the District of Columbia closed, and 50.8 million public school students were impacted by the pandemic. There were hundreds of teachers and school workers who died, and things are starting off wrong with this school year in 2021.
This new Delta variant is hard to control because it adapts to the cells and hides, and the medical experts and scientist are not sure how to fight this variant. As hospitals continue to operate at near 100% capacity, the country needs direction from President Biden and the CDC. Slowing down the opening of the school year could help the experts and leaders determine the right decisions to make.
Vaccines are still the number one line of defense to control the pandemic. As the numbers of shots are declining in Americans, this is a major problem and challenge. Many experts are saying personal fears and personal beliefs is the reason the numbers are low, and the schools appear to be set up to fail.
In the last 14 to 20 days, 90% of the unvaccinated Americans are getting the virus, and the younger children are being impacted by unvaccinated family members. It does not make sense to put politics above the health of our children. The new Delta variant is breaking daily records; it would be a good decision to slow down the opening of the school year across the country.
Give the parents options, and bring back distance learning. Require protective masks in all public school buildings, and all teachers and school personnel must have a vaccination or weekly virus test. Our president and the CDC must be proactive, because our children’s lives are at stake.
Be the first to comment