Back to School 2021 – “New Normal” or the “Delta Blues?”

 We were all hoping that Back to School 2021 would be a smooth return to a “new normal.” We have highly effective vaccines. We know how to protect our children with vaccines, masking, spacing and testing. COVID cases were trending down early in the summer. However, the Delta variant had other plans.

 Here is where we stand in September 2021. The Delta variant is more infectious, especially in children. Over 251,781 children were diagnosed with COVID-19 8/26/21-9/2/21, representing 26.8% of the weekly reported cases, according the the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the most pediatric cases reported in a single week, since the pandemic began. Thousands of children and school staff are getting infected, isolating and quarantining. The situation is much worse in communities with low vaccination rate. Nearly all the deaths from COVID-19 are among unvaccinated people. The children in communities with low vaccination rates are suffering disproportionately from illness, deaths of teachers and family members and education loss. There have already been disruptions due to isolation, quarantine and even due to severe weather.

The moral of the story is that all eligible people need to get vaccinated. Employers can play a role in requiring or incentivizing vaccines. We all need to wear masks, especially in schools. Families and employers need to continue to be careful and flexible to get us out of the Delta blues and keep the children safe and in school.