It has been nearly a year since our children were suddenly exiled from school, and we still have no idea when they can return to actual classrooms.
Since the school shutdown, many of us have discovered the limits of our patience as parents and guardians. For example, I had no idea I was capable of yelling so much. You?
It will be a long time, though, before we fully grasp the effect that school campus closures have had on our kids, a long time before we understand what missing a year of in-classroom instruction and socialization will mean for their long-term academic and emotional development.
Los Angeles Area Pediatricians Call For Schools to Immediately Reopen, Despite State COVID Guidelines
On 2/3/21 at 1:44 PM EST
A group of pediatricians in Southern California have called for the immediate reopening of Los Angeles County schools, in a move that goes at odds with current coronavirus state guidelines.
A Wednesday statement from the Southern California Chapter 2 of the American Academy of Pediatrics encouraged school campuses to reopen after nearly a year of lockdown orders and school closures. Schools should open immediately, Dr. Alice Kuo, Executive Board member of the Southern California Chapter and Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA said in the statement reviewed by
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he believes schools can begin to reopen even if all teachers are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, provided that proper safety measures and supports are in place although some teachers unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles, have said vaccinations should be a prerequisite to resuming in-person instruction.
“We can safely reopen schools as we process a prioritization to our teachers of vaccinations,” Newsom said Wednesday.
“I’d love to have everybody in the state vaccinated that chooses to be vaccinated,” he said during a briefing held to announce the future opening of a community vaccination center at the Oakland Coliseum. “Not only would I like to prioritize teachers, we are prioritizing teachers.”
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that schools can safely reopen even if teachers are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team.
Walensky cited CDC data showing that social distancing and wearing a mask significantly reduce the spread of the virus in school settings.
Some teachers’ unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles, have balked at resuming in-person instruction before teachers are inoculated. L.A. Unified Supt. Austin Beutner has said it is critical that health officials specifically target school employees for vaccination while campuses are closed so that this impediment to reopening is removed.