Dr. Peter Hotez: 'We're Going To See Schools Return To Virtual Learning' - MSNBC
Dr. Peter Hotez , co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and former Health Policy Director for the Obama Administration Dr. Kavita Patel join MSNBC's Craig Melvin to answer viewer questions about dealing with coronavirus as children return to school. Aired on 08/13/2021.
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The local newspaper here has done well with reporting Covid news, it's been on the front page since the beginning. My largely rural New York county had the first Covid death on May 1st of last year and it made the headline. And I remember the controversy about opening schools last fall. One of the state universities was had only welcomed students back for 2 weeks when there was a major outbreak because students were having gatherings against advice - and they sent everyone home. And I know a local couple whose 2 kids were both in college, the son was just starting his first year - and they were sent home early on as well. So this year, with the more transmissible Delta variant, it's not looking good for schools opening to in-person learning in a little less than a month. 
And last year masks were mandated for all students at all levels, I used to see the kids getting off the bus and even the youngest kids wore masks. But even that didn't completely prevent outbreaks, there were several from high school to elementary. Even at the end of the school year, there was an outbreak at a nearby high school causing them to cancel sports and after school activities. And now, with the more transmissible Delta variant, it's going to be a tough decision. The good news is that those 12-and-over are approved to get the vaccine - and I saw a couple of young teens brought by their Moms when I took my brother to get his second shot back in May. But will the vaccine now be required?
And what worries me is that New York rescinded the year-and-a-half long mask mandate at the beginning of July, just in time for "tourist season" in these parts (Lake George) - coinciding with the advent of Delta. Last summer, New York had a quarantine in place and everything was closed down here, this summer everything's back to "normal." 
It's bad enough now with schools closed for the summer and people spending time outside. The only solution is getting everyone who is eligible vaccinated and mask use indoors, especially in schools. The only chance we have is getting that done ASAP, but the number of unvaccinated - especially in a handful of states - make the chances of getting Covid under control unlikely. 