COMPLIMENTARY COPY
New COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Site Opens at Cal State L.A.
Former Sierra Madre Mayor George Maurer Passes Away at 98
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VOL. 10, NO. 7
PARENTS DEMAND SCHOOLS REOPEN BUT IS IT SAFE? Teacher vaccinations are important but not a prerequisite for reopening, CDC says — at least in elementary schools Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
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cores of parents and their children descended upon Pasadena City Hall Tuesday afternoon to voice their support for opening schools immediately. A parent of Pasadena Unified children, Erika Foy organized the rally. She said: “It is hard to believe our kids are on day 340 of Zoom learning. Why? We now know in-person schooling can be done safely to protect kids and teachers with the proper masking, social distancing protocols and hand washing. There is substantial data that now shows in-person learning is not associated with accelerating community transmission when these protocols are followed. Our kids are suffering tremendously and pediatricians from San Francisco to San Diego are calling on schools to open. We currently have school districts closed all throughout California with no indication they will reopen anytime soon. Are you ok with school not opening till next fall? Did you know the L.A. Zoo is open but our schools are not?” Foy says she and other are advocating for children across the state. “As Dr. Maya Kumar, an adolescent medicine specialist at Rady’s Children's Hospital. recently said, ‘Schools provide much more than academics to
Scores of parents and students paraded in front of Pasadena City Hall Tuesday voicing their demands to open schools, immediately. | Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
children; they are central to the development of their identity, independence and their sense of right and wrong,’” Foy quoted. “We also agree when she says, school is where children learn how to interact with other people and develop such life skills as empathy, negotiation and respect. You cannot obtain these skills through Zoom. More importantly and concerning though, is the fact that keeping schools closed is catalyzing mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders with kids everywhere. In fact, schoolage Americans are 10-times more likely to die by suicide than COVID. Where is the
sense in this of keeping kids [in] lockdown?” she asked. “We have 70 plus days till the end of the school term and we want to see kids go back grades K-12. Kids in California don’t have a union to represent their needs and our current public health measures are putting too much of the burden on them — academically, emotionally and physically. We need to prioritize our next generation to ensure they have a chance at a healthy development to succeed as adults. It is time to get kids back to school, sports, clubs and putting purpose back into their lives. Science shows us it can be done safely, and we owe it to our kids to try. Distance learning cannot
replace school especially after 340 days. The time for our leaders to advocate for kids is now,” Foy stated emphatically. However, PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald says there is no reopening timeline set out for PUSD presently. The debates over schools reopening in the midst of the pandemic are troubled, to say the very least. Arcadia Unified School District’s chief communications officer, Ryan Foran, said that the district has placed its safety priorities on their web site but no clear indication of when schools will resume in person learning. The extended policy can be found at AUSD.net.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday provided a roadmap for reopening schools but it cannot force schools to reopen. Emphasizing mask wearing and social distancing, the C.D.C. did say that “Access to vaccination should not be considered a condition for reopening schools for in-person instruction.” Even after teachers and staff are vaccinated, schools need to require masks in schools and physical distancing. They said that evidence suggests that many K-12 schools that have “strictly implemented mitigation strategies have been able to safely open for in-person instruction and remain
open.” The agency also said schools “should be prioritized for reopening and remaining open for in-person instruction over nonessential businesses and activities.” According to the C.D.C., evidence suggests that K-12 in-person school attendance is not a primary driver of community transmission. “Although children can be infected with SARS-CoV-2, can get sick from COVID19, and can spread the virus to others, evidence indicates that children are less susceptible than adults, and may be less infectious,” the agency said. Despite this, SEE REOPEN PAGE 8