Where are the adults?

There have been several articles reporting on students and families protesting at local school districts in an effort to attend in-person classes and sports events. The only arguments being discussed are how impactful it is on the social aspect of the students. There is little discussion of the impact on the students' academics or long-term impacts from health issues.

Is the social dynamic at school worth the risk of students getting COVID-19, then bringing it home and putting families at risk? Mayo Clinic describes some long-term damage they are seeing with "COVID-19 symptoms can sometimes persist for months. The virus can damage the lungs, heart, and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems." The virus is age discriminate. "Early research shows the disease attacks more than just the respiratory system, affecting multiple organs with blood clots and inflammation."

Science Magazine published an article called " 'Brain fog' to heart damage, COVID-19's lingering problems," where one group in Italy found that 87% of a patient cohort hospitalized for acute COVID-19 was still struggling two months later. Data from the COVID Symptom Study, which uses an app into which millions of people in the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden have tapped their symptoms, suggest 10% to 15% of people - including some "mild" cases - don't quickly recover.

No one knows how far into the future symptoms will endure, and whether COVID-19 will prompt the onset of chronic diseases.

There are plenty of scholarly articles like the two mentioned above. Is a couple of months of social interaction that they can likely get outside of a high school setting really worth the potential of the long-term health issues for your child and family?

Nick Kotzamanis

Grayslake