Covid Vaccine News
Seeking Covid-19 vaccinations for your children remains the best way to protect them from severe illness AND the best way to minimize disruptions in their in-person learning experience. To this point in the year we have all enjoyed a sense of peace and stability where no one at school was considered a close contact from activities during the school day, based on our VDH sanctioned practices of masking always while indoors and staying three feet apart.
However, as we simultaneously experience some families choosing to opt-out of masks for mitigation while we endure what is hopefully the last of the omicron surge, we are forced to return to a time of contact tracing and quarantines from school. We know this disruption is painful for families and teachers alike, but there is a step you can take to protect your children from quarantine: seek Covid-19 vaccination. Vaccinated children who are identified as close contacts to someone who has tested positive for Covid 19 and are asymptomatic can return to school immediately (provided they remain masked for ten days). We can rest easy that our kids are highly likely to be at school every school day when they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and an increase in vaccine compliance will decrease the workload for teachers as well.
A recent case at a CYO game, for example, could have sent home an entire team of basketball players for 7-10 days of quarantine, but because of our stellar 85% vaccine compliance in 7th and 8th grades, only a very small fraction of students will be learning asynchronously this week. School wide, however, our vaccine compliance rate remains around 30%, indicating that many of our students could be mandated to quarantine in the event of more cases at school, at home, or in extracurricular activities.
Students May Not Carry Medications
A near miss happened just today at STM when a middle school teacher found a bottle of painkillers on the floor among the personal belongings of students. If ingested by a student too young to realize these are not candy, or falling into the hands of any one of our students with an allergy to this medication, the outcome could be tragic. Our building is “home” to a community of students ranging from age 4-14. While you may know the level of responsibility your middle schooler can handle, please think of the 4 and 5 year olds with whom they share an educational environment. Please ensure you are not sending students to school with medication in their possession, whether it is prescription or over the counter. If you anticipate your child will need medication during school hours, please reach out to the clinic at [email protected] or 703-528-6781x228.
Updates to Quarantine Practices
Please take a moment to review the FAQ for mask “opt-out” here. The document has been updated and now includes a handy flow chart from VDH to help parents understand state guidelines around quarantine, isolation, masking vs. not masking, and vaccine status.