Third Wave is Here...

[pigletto]

Niagara prioritized vaccines for school staff and started them Easter weekend and I’m extremely glad they did . Hopefully it helps get kids back to school full time in September.

 

[Sue M]

I took my 11 yo to get an ice cream cone at McDonald’s the other day and there must have been 8 teens about age 15-16 hanging out together in front of the restaurant. They were horsing around , being kids. This was early afternoon around 1:30, my kid was just done with his online learning block and I took him out for a treat. The McDs in question is in upper middle class neighborhood and guessing these kids live around there and walked over together. My kid was watching them from the drive-thru and at some point said: omg this girl there is my friend’s older sister! I inquired which friend and yes I know them. The parents are both doctors. Probably both at work.
11 and 16 yo left at home to do online schools which let’s face it, is mostly a joke. My kid for example has one learning block a day, the rest is independent work. Grade 6. What are kids to do?
Some will go out unfortunately and parents would rather the kids go out then stay inside the house. Our neighbour is a police officer who works with youth in the schools. He said to us that kids being home, especially teens is far more dangerous then being in a more structured and supervised environment at school. Lots will gather behind their parents back when they are at work.
He also was talking about kids mental health in general, he said kids have regular meltdowns, lots more than ever before talk about suicide and so parents will sometimes give in to some social interaction with peers to alleviate this. Yes I know a lot of kids are fine, but most really are not. This dad, again a police officer says to let the kids outside, maybe put on a mask and let them be with peers. Outside. Based on what he’s seeing in his work right now is scary, and he’s not talking about kids catching covid.
People need to get real, if the schools stay closed kids will find other ways to socialize.
I drove by a few neighborhoods this week, all had groups of kids playing together outside. It’s hard to say what the parents are thinking. Probably trying to allow the kids to do something, as safely as possible, outside. I don’t know.

Maybe this is why Dr Bonnie has been saying it’s safer to have the kids in school. They’re in a controlled environment and have to follow rules with masks and social distancing. At home the parents are at work and the kids are out hanging in groups with no masks, distancing and at friends homes.

 

[Sue M]

I have an interesting situation with a close friend and the vaccine. She qualifies both by age (40+) and medical condition (MS). But so far she has not received the vaccine. Because of health issues (in addition to MS), she is more likely to have a bad outcome if she did get COVID. Her husband does not trust the COVID vaccine. Thinks it was rushed too fast. (Also thinks we should have just mostly let COVID run its natural course to achieve herd immunity). Anyway, I have been gently encouraging her to get the vaccine (i.e., pointing out where she could register and offered to help her find an AZ appt) but basically she admitted its 'not worth dealing with' her husband and his opposition to the vaccine. But based on recent comments, I've realized that she is hoping that it will be mandated for certain situations (maybe her job or travel, etc.) because then her husband is likely to grudgingly go along with her getting it.

I won’t get into what I think of him but can’t she do it without telling him? You could register for her. If she’s ok with your help. He doesn’t have to know she’s getting the vaccine at all.

 

[badiggio]

This is why it is important to get all school staff fully vaccinated so school can reopen safely in September. Our kids need to be in school. They need to be safe.

I have to disagree,about kids in school.
Parents need to be parents.
Schools should be closed .Kids everywhere and of all ages can be found socializing with friends.Parks and playgrounds are hits for kids and their parents.Then they bring whatever they caught, home to their families,who then spread it to others, they may have been in contact with.Finally that child brings it to school,where he's enclosed in a closed room with another 20-30 kids ,to spread and pick up what they bring.
Imo,locking up a child in a room with 30 others and all their contacts ,and breathing the same air,doesn't seem safe to me.Again,imo,this is why we're where we are today,and after closing and locking up just about everything else, couldn't be denied anymore.

 

[Iralyn]

I would be concerned about your friend because her husband has no right to try and tell her what to do as far as her health is concerned. It sounds like a very controlling relationship. That is actually a form of abuse.

I understand where you're coming and their relationship is far from perfect but I don't know that it is really that controlling/abusive. This is not typical behaviour for him -- he is much more of a live and let live kind of guy. But he like many others has been pushed a bit over the edge by the pandemic and the vaccine is one of his sticking points. He is convinced it is not safe and, of course, he doesn't want his partner doing something that will further harm her health. To begin with, she shared his concerns but now that she has seen how many others have gotten the vaccine, she seems to be less hesitant herself. It is not like he would prevent her from getting it but just that he would continue to tell her why he thinks it is a bad idea. I hear you on the line that could be crossing into abuse but not sure it is quite there. He should just accept whatever her decision is of course.

UPDATE (things got busy around here and I never actually posted the above): She (without any further prompting from me) has gone ahead and preregistered with the health unit to get her vaccine!!! Y'all must have been putting the right vibes out into the universe!

 

[OnceUponATime15]

A little late to the post re: childcare staff now receiving covid vaccinations. As positive as this is, i’m still annoyed by the fact it should have been done from the beginning of the pandemic when we were asked to provide emergency care and over the months we’ve been continuing to operate. Not just for the staff, but for the very young little people who have no possibility of getting vaccinated and have the same exposures as the staff. Months and months have gone by to get to this point. Let’s hope that the vaccine supply holds out.

So here we are, light at the end of the tunnel, but at a time when the vaccine is becoming available for my coworkers... within the last week - 4 of our 7 Regionally operated Early Learning and Childcare Centres have been shut down for 14 each days due to positive covid cases (Staff and Child) so staff and families can isolate. We are talking about a substantial number of people now quarantined across the Region. Now we wait to see if community spread becomes an issue out of these confirmed cases.
My centre is one of the three still operating.. and it is located in one of the current postal code designated hot zones.

It did not have to be this way, and should not have been this way. Common sense was certainly not a factor in the decisions that lead us to this.

 

[damo]

This is why it is important to get all school staff fully vaccinated so school can reopen safely in September. Our kids need to be in school. They need to be safe.

I wonder how many districts still haven't prioritized teachers.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

I wonder how many districts still haven't prioritized teachers.

I wonder how many boards have yet to realize that in order to have staff fully vaccinated before the scheduled school opening in September, that first doses need to be completed by this upcoming week in order to have the second dose 16 weeks later administered by the end of August (and allowing for the 2 week post second shot period to have actual full immunity)

 

[damo]

I wonder how many boards have yet to realize that in order to have staff fully vaccinated before the scheduled school opening in September, that first doses need to be completed by this upcoming week in order to have the second dose 16 weeks later administered by the end of August (and allowing for the 2 week post second shot period to have actual full immunity)

They only need 21 days, so that probably isn't a concern.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

They only need 21 days, so that probably isn't a concern.

Yes.. 21 days between doses is what is recommended, but the reality is due to lack of vaccine availability second shots are 4 months out from the first shot. My first shot was April 6/21 my second dose was booked by the public health system before I left the first appointment.. for July 27/21.
Standard operating procedure right now sadly.

 

[samsteele]

I understand re AZ the sweet spot to try to hit the higher end of the efficacy scale of 79% is 3 months. 2 months is too little and 4 months pushing the envelope and down to around 72%. Lots of balls in the air with both the feds and prov govts to get 2nd shots of different vaccines with different time windows into many arms in order to squeeze the best out of these vaccines for Canadians.

 

[damo]

Yes.. 21 days between doses is what is recommended, but the reality is due to lack of vaccine availability second shots are 4 months out from the first shot. My first shot was April 6/21 my second dose was booked by the public health system before I left the first appointment.. for July 27/21.
Standard operating procedure right now sadly.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...o-dose-covid-19-vaccines-be-reduced-1.5407708
"
In Ontario, Bogoch, who is also a member of the province’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think it's fair to say that we probably won't be waiting four months for our second dose. The keyword is probably,” Bogoch said in a recent interview with CTV News."

Those times will be changed depending on vaccine availability. The gov't isn't going to make everyone stick to those scheduled times if there is supply to get those second shots done.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

I’ve heard of 3 situations where people who were vaccinated, caught the virus and died. Those three instances were 1-2 people removed from me. I had the virus, and I took my JNJ vaccine today. Why did I do it? To hopefully be able to travel without having to constantly test. We need to stop focusing on cases and focus on hospitalizations.....which was the cause for the 2 week turned one year+ shutdown. We shouldn’t be focusing on cases. It’s a contagious virus and everyone will be exposed to it.

We were not excited to get the vaccine. We did get the AstraZenica when the ages were lowered. We did it, because we want some normacly to return and also we are thinking that we will need it to travel. My sister was touting about how we will need a booster in nexxt year or two blah blah blah. We will see how this all rolls out. This is NOT something I want to doing every year. We will take it one year at a time. We will weigh how this all plays out and what the future holds in regards to vaccine passports etc etc etc.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...o-dose-covid-19-vaccines-be-reduced-1.5407708
"
In Ontario, Bogoch, who is also a member of the province’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think it's fair to say that we probably won't be waiting four months for our second dose. The keyword is probably,” Bogoch said in a recent interview with CTV News."

Those times will be changed depending on vaccine availability. The gov't isn't going to make everyone stick to those scheduled times if there is supply to get those second shots done.

I’m familiar with Dr Issac Bogoch, I’ve been watching him daily since the pandemic began last March. I respect his opinions.. his predictions are hit & miss though. If there is supply, is the take away from the above quote.
Availability is and will remain the challenge here. Things that are beyond planning for or expecting to have, lies with the manufacturer. The supply chain issues are recurrent, just this week we received half of what was expected from Moderna (650,000 of 1.2M expected) the pfizer mess up in February is just now being rectified. AZ is behind in shipments and the new J&J is one that will have the same hesitancy as AZ has been seeing for the same reasons. I’d love to see smooth sailing going forward but the first several months with issue after issue has me only guardedly optimistic that there will be a big enough improvement to shorten the wait between doses.

 

[damo]

So this is interesting...

Death due to COVID-19 parties could lead to manslaughter charges: experts

https://www.cp24.com/news/death-due...ead-to-manslaughter-charges-experts-1.5408603

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I am off to get tested this morning. Came home from work yesterday (no one in the office but me) and I was in bed at 7pm, asleep by 9pm, both are not like me at all. My chest feels heavy and now my glands feel sore.

The chest part is what has me concerned. I had this last April when I was 95% sure I had covid. It was horrible. Anyhoo, I am now thinking what / who did I see this week. Two coworkers popped in for a 5 minutes each but we all had on masks and kept distance. I haven't been "out" since Saturday getting groceries.

I am likely just fighting a sickness, but obviously need to know one way or another.

 

[wdwmom3]

I am off to get tested this morning. Came home from work yesterday (no one in the office but me) and I was in bed at 7pm, asleep by 9pm, both are not like me at all. My chest feels heavy and now my glands feel sore.

The chest part is what has me concerned. I had this last April when I was 95% sure I had covid. It was horrible. Anyhoo, I am now thinking what / who did I see this week. Two coworkers popped in for a 5 minutes each but we all had on masks and kept distance. I haven't been "out" since Saturday getting groceries.

I am likely just fighting a sickness, but obviously need to know one way or another.

Fingers crossed for a negative test.

 

[wdwmom3]

So this is interesting...

Death due to COVID-19 parties could lead to manslaughter charges: experts

https://www.cp24.com/news/death-due...ead-to-manslaughter-charges-experts-1.5408603

I saw that. And this should happen. If your reckless actions lead to someone’s death you should be held responsible.

 

[damo]

I saw that. And this should happen. If your reckless actions lead to someone’s death you should be held responsible.

Maybe this will help to serve as a deterrent but I'm not hopeful with the integrity of those who plan such events.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Thank you @wdwmom3