Doctor Is In by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
The coronavirus pandemic basically shut down the world. There are no two ways of saying it. Everything, from tourism to transportation to sports to health and even education, was affected. Now, countries are starting to get back on their feet, thanks largely to the release of vaccines. But things are not going too smoothly in many of the affected sectors, and today, we will focus on education.
The importance of education cannot be downplayed, especially now in the 21st century. As am immigrant, I would never have been able to become a Physician, if it wasn’t for the education I received in our great Public Schools. However, many schools have not been able to reopen because of fear of the coronavirus. And rightfully so, I must say. Education is important, but health is just more important. You can’t teach the dead, can you?
This is why the topic is not just about opening schools; it’s about doing so safely. The keyword there is ‘safely.’ Students and teachers must be assured of their safety and health before we even think of reopening schools.
The CDC has spoken severally on the subject of reopening schools. They believe schools can and should reopen. They referred the country to a 2020 study that says children are not likely to be the main drivers of the pandemic. According to the study, children have lower viral loads. Children are also usually more asymptomatic and show lesser symptoms than adults, which may reduce the transmission of the virus to adults.
In light of this, the CDC believes that while children are equally susceptible to the virus, they are not as likely to die or be very ill from the virus. They also aren’t as infectious and usually more asymptomatic than adults. Therefore, schools can be open while the coronavirus cases reduce. This is reassuring, I’d say. But we need more than just ‘reassuring’ to open schools.
If you are confused as to why I’m so insistent on the safety of teachers and students before opening schools, I am a pediatrician. I treat children. Under no circumstances whatsoever will I support any policy or move that will jeopardize the health of children. But schools still have to reopen sometime, though. We just have to do it the right way.
What is the right way? For starters, there must be weekly testing of students and teachers. If you have been tested for COVID, it was likely by nasal and throat swabs. You have to agree with me that this test is pretty invasive and uncomfortable. You wouldn’t expect children to like it. On the other hand, spit tests are easier, less invasive, and as accurate as nasal and throat swabs. Then, children will likely enjoy this more! And, luckily, spit testing is quite widespread here in NJ.
It is one thing to have weekly testing; it is another to make the system of testing simple. Remember that it’s children that are going to be tested. If the tests are overly complex and ambiguous, the children will only skip the tests if they can or just refuse them altogether.
Another step is contact tracing, which is a technique used by public health authorities to contact and give guidance to anyone who may have been exposed to a person who has contracted COVID. Proper contact tracing is critical if we hope to beat this virus, even after the vaccines are widely available.
Long ago, contact tracing was reserved for special government arms. Now, there are applications on your phone that can help with contact tracing. Thank you, technology. One of these is exposure notifications on your smartphone. First, you need to download the exposure notification app, available on both Android and iOS devices. From here, you don’t have to do anything serious again.
The app gives you a unique ID. This ID changes every ten to twenty minutes to prevent people from tracking you. Every other person who has the app will also have the ID. The moment you come close to an infected person(s), you get a notification. And you will also receive further instructions from your public health authority on how to keep you and the people around you safe.
There are, of course, other ways of fighting the virus, like automated emails and the like. Any way that ensures students and teachers are safe is a win.
There are organizations nowadays that help in the reopening of schools, universities, and companies. One of these organizations is SafelyOpen Health, whose Mission is to provide an evidence-based, yet a simple and very efficient plan to schools. The fight against COVID is one we will win. One we have to win. Wear a mask. Stay safe.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/07/covid-testing-biden-473937
· https://safelyopen.org/
· https://www.google.com/amp/s/indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-new-cdc-guidelines-for-re-opening-schools-in-the-us-7187505/lite/
· https://www.google.com/covid19/exposurenotifications/
