Two days ago, I wrote a lengthy post outlining the risks and benefits of sending your child back to school. The benefits far outweigh the risks. A quick summary from that post:
Kids are at extremely low risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and at even lower risk of requiring hospitalization.
There is no longer an option of returning to school with no risks to your child but understand the risks. And remember the layers of protection the powers that be are putting into place which are: masking, testing, co-horting, vaccinations, staying home when you are sick.
These layers protect teachers and staff too.
So, how do we protect our teachers? First off all, I think it is important to review this graph again ( page 6 of this document)
https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Ontario-Returns-to-School-An-Overview-of-the-Science_20220112-1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2nKhzKQjmtG5TFwhRK2Lmy-K2QanBYkvKLUMyof1SvG9_uN484v0Itriw
The yellow bars represent the number of hospitalizations in your age group since the beginning of the pandemic. For example, in 40 to 59 year olds, there have been about 200 people hospitalized in the last 22 months which includes the time before vaccines and during the peaks of every wave when overall hospitalization rates were high. The risk goes up if you are over sixty and down if you are less than 40. The 20 to 49 year olds have about half the rate of hospitalization or 100 or so that have required hospitalization since the start of the pandemic.
You know where I am going with this. Two vaccines provide little protection against getting COVID-19. The rate varies from study to study but 3 doses reduce your risk of getting COVID by 11-30 %. But 2 doses still protect against serious illness. Here's the highlight; three doses reduces your risk of getting COVID-19 by 70 % and the risk of serious illness requiring hospitalization by 90-95 %. Older people, again, are at higher risk.
No one with three vaccines has required hospitalization due to COVID-19 with over 5 million doses given in Ontario. The patients I see at the office with COVID-19 are divided into two groups: those with two vaccines who have a pretty tough head cold, sore throat and cough and those with three doses of vaccine who have none to very mild symptoms.
Couple three vaccines with a properly worn N95 mask and your risk of getting COVID-19 in the classroom drops dramatically. I will search for an actual number for this risk but it's a beautiful day and the pond beckons me.
Add a properly sized HEPA filter to the classroom with three doses of vaccine and a properly fitting N 95 mask and I just don't think you will be at great risk of even getting COVID-19 and if you do, it will likely cause mild symptoms. You may be even more safe in the classroom than folks who head into a public space or to a gathering with a surgical mask and two vaccines which, at present, is what the majority of Ontarions have.
We will never prevent that transmission in schools entirely, just as there will still be teachers, adult school staff and children acquiring COVID-19 outside of the school setting.
And the story about HEPA filters? Growing evidence shows that they are effective at reducing transmission rates especially during the coming weeks when opening windows is not comfortable.
And finally, almost 70 % of the students in the Guelph Wellington Dufferin region have been received at least one dose and 83% of high school students have received two doses. Centennial has the highest double vaccination rate at 90 %. Once all these students have received two doses, their risk of transmitting to teachers and staff reduces, add a surgical mask and the risk goes down even further.
Would I go back to school tomorrow if I were a teacher or a staff member? Yes I would. Definitely. Just as I feel comfortable seeing sick patients with COVID-19 in my office, I would feel comfortable heading back to school. I have three vaccines and a tight fitting N95 mask as my shields of protection.
I hope to have time to do a youtube video on how to properly wear an N95 mask. Teachers and staff are not being given a fitted mask. That just means you will not be sitting down with an N95 fitting expert who makes sure the masks fits properly. In short, make sure the mask is small enough to fit the entire area around your mouth, under your chin and over your nose. No are should escape from the mask. It fits like a suction cup. If air cannot escape, air cannot get in, including air with COVID-19 virus circulating in it.
This links reviews how to wear an N 95 mask:
https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1448498O/wear-it-right-putting-on-your-respirator.pdf
Back to it tomorrow. My best wishes to all of you. Your risks are low. Your student risks are low. And, thank you for educating our children. Their present well-being and future success depends on it.
Anne-Marie
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