Uncharted Territory: Back To School Meets The Delta Surge

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🗓️ 11 August 2021

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

In the next few weeks, millions of children will head back to school. Many of them are too young to be vaccinated. At the same time, children are being hospitalized with COVID-19 in small but growing numbers — and approaching rates higher than the winter surge.

Dr. Marcos Mestre with Niklaus Children's Foundation Hospital in Miami told NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday many of the children his hospital is treating come from families with unvaccinated parents or caretakers.

Unlike last year, many schools will have no remote learning option this fall. While some may have mask mandates, a handful of Republican governors — including Florida's Ron DeSantis — have issued executive orders banning those mandates. NPR's Pien Huang surveyed experts about how to keep children safe during the delta surge. Read more coverage from the NPR science desk here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
0:05.5	Over the next few weeks, millions of kids will be going back to school in person, and
0:10.3	many of them are too young to be vaccinated.
0:13.5	Welcome to this special meeting of the school board.
0:16.4	Which means a lot of parents and caretakers.
0:19.4	This is particularly scary to me.
0:21.4	Feel like they are in a no-win situation.
0:24.3	The Delta variant is not sparing our children.
0:26.9	These kids will get sick, they will bring this home to their families.
0:30.0	I never thought we would live in such a bizarre world where I would have to come here and
0:34.3	plead with the school officials responsible for children's health safety.
0:38.4	Now this could be any number of school board meetings around the country in the last few
0:42.0	months.
0:43.0	It's from this week and Manatee County near Tampa.
0:46.4	Just one day before kids went back to school, the board was hearing from parents as it debated
0:52.1	whether to implement a mask mandate.
0:54.9	If you're scared, stay home.
0:57.0	We have options.
0:58.6	Not everyone supported the idea.
1:00.4	My right to choose what is best for the health and well-being of my children is granted
1:03.9	to me by God and not the government.
1:06.0	What about my kids' choice to come to school and a safe environment?
	...

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