Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public | N.S.A. (News|Stories|Analytics)

Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says ‘We know how to keep schools open and safe’

Throughout the pandemic, experts have said children are less likely to develop serious illness. For the week from 9 to 16 December, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported 169,964 pediatric Covid-19 cases, representing 1.8% to 4.1% of hospitalised patients.

Rising numbers of pediatric cases have convinced officials in some states to order a return to remote learning after the winter break. Around 300 schools in Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York will remain closed.
In Mount Vernon, a New York suburb, virtual learning is scheduled until at least 18 January.
“I have been very reluctant to close schools but given the current trends in Covid cases it would be risky not to do so,” district superintendent Kenneth Hamilton wrote.
In Maryland, Prince George’s county public schools, one of the 20 largest districts in the US, transitioned more than 136,500 students to virtual learning last week.

“The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to do so, causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day.”
In New Jersey, Paterson public schools will start 2022 with two weeks remote.

Some officials have expressed frustration. Dan Domenech, director of the School Superintendents Association, told: “Just when we thought this past October – when we had about 98% of kids back in schools in person – that things were moving in the right direction, here we are right back where we were last year.”

On Sunday, a leading health expert questioned the need for any schools to close.
Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told: “We know how to keep schools open, we know how to keep them safe. This really shouldn’t even be on the table. I’m disappointed to see this happening. … There could be times when you have such severe short staffing shortages that it may be hard to keep schools going. That really should be the only context I think at this point.”

Concern about Omicron infections among children remains high, however. On Friday, Christmas Eve, the New York health department warned healthcare providers of rising numbers of child hospitalisations around New York City, where Omicron was first recorded on US soil.

For the week starting 19 December, none of the five- to 11-year-old patients were fully vaccinated.

The health department advised parents to protect “children who are five years and older by getting them fully vaccinated and protect children under five by making sure all of those around them have protection through vaccination, boosters, mask-wearing, avoiding crowds and testing”.