Partly cloudy skies. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Adrianna Medrano, 11, watches closely as her sister Alissa, 8, receives a COVID-19 vaccine from Lauri Fasken-Tripp, nursing supervisor at the Jasper County Health Department, in November 2021. Local medical providers say parents and students should get vaccinated and boosted, if they haven't already, before they head back to school. Globe file
Megan Johnson, medical assistant at the Community Clinic of Southwest Missouri in Joplin, gives a COVID-19 vaccine to 7-year-old Daniel Fahrenholtz in November 2021. Local medical providers are urging parents and children to stay up to date on their vaccinations, including for COVID-19, as the start of school approaches. GLOBE FILE
Adrianna Medrano, 11, watches closely as her sister Alissa, 8, receives a COVID-19 vaccine from Lauri Fasken-Tripp, nursing supervisor at the Jasper County Health Department, in November 2021. Local medical providers say parents and students should get vaccinated and boosted, if they haven't already, before they head back to school. Globe file
Megan Johnson, medical assistant at the Community Clinic of Southwest Missouri in Joplin, gives a COVID-19 vaccine to 7-year-old Daniel Fahrenholtz in November 2021. Local medical providers are urging parents and children to stay up to date on their vaccinations, including for COVID-19, as the start of school approaches. GLOBE FILE
As parents and students prepare to go back to school, medical providers are preparing for a possible spike in illness, specifically COVID-19 and the flu.
“We’ve seen quite a bit of COVID in the office, and parents calling in when they have COVID are checking about (the dangers) to their kids,” said Dr. Beth Garrett, a pediatrician with the Freeman Children’s Clinic. “We still need to remember that COVID is here, and we need to take care of ourselves and use common sense when it comes to COVID.”
By using commonsense precautions, “you can save a lot of heartache,” she added.
“This pandemic is not over,” said Donna Stokes, senior infection prevention lead at Mercy Hospital Joplin. “I don’t know when it will be. So we have to continue to stay vigilant, and complacency does not help that.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biden administration are urging parents to get themselves and their children vaccinated and boosted. They also are encouraging all U.S. school districts to host at least one school-based vaccine clinic at the start of the year.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education currently has no masking recommendations for schools. Other recommendations are:
• Parents should screen their children at home, and those with symptoms should not attend school. Those diagnosed with COVID-19 should be allowed to return to school after 10 days, including three days without a fever.
• Physical distancing of 3 to 6 feet is suggested, with desks all facing the same direction. Proper hand hygiene should be required when moving from one space to another.
• Any student or staff member who becomes symptomatic while at school should be isolated immediately and wear a medical-grade mask until they are no longer inside the school building.
“I believe the schools are feeling more confident in their ability to make things safer for kids” and help reduce overall viral transmissions, Stokes said.
While many school districts across the country are adding incentives to keep children inside the classroom, the old advice of staying away when sick applies more than ever now, Stokes said.
“When (a child) is sick, they should stay home,” she said. “Staying home when not feeling well is going to be the key to controlling the spread.”
Garrett said she’s already seeing a COVID-19 spike in Joplin. She added that cases could increase in the coming weeks as students and staff return to class.
“Looking at the models and patterns that COVID has been showing us over the last two years of the pandemic, we do anticipate another flare, if you will, this fall,” Stokes said. “A part of that will be related to school, and part of that will simply be related to more indoor activities” compared with summer.
Available vaccines and boosters, indoor masking and social distancing are all proven weapons that can help limit a COVID-19 spike, Garrett said.
“I feel like we have masks that work when used appropriately, we have vaccines that diminish the key illness and decrease the risk of hospitalizations, and then we have medications for those who qualify that can lessen the severity of the illness,” she said.
The approaching influenza season shouldn’t be taken for granted, Garrett said. Before the onset of COVID-19, the No. 1 concern among parents at the start of a new school year was the flu bug.
“We have focused on COVID,” she said, “but we must have a lot of respect for the flu and what it can do to a healthy child or one who is compromised.”
Garrett urged parents to get their children the updated flu vaccine shots when they are made available.
Stokes said predicting a flu season is like predicting next week’s weather — it’s a mostly futile exercise.
“It will depend on the (potency) of the flu vaccine given this year; sometimes it’s very accurate, and sometimes it misses the mark,” Stokes said. “Only time will tell.”
Kevin McClintock is features editor for The Joplin Globe as well as editor of the award-winning Joplin Magazine, a bi-monthly lifestyles magazine. Kevin has been with The Joplin Globe since 2009. He can be reached at 417-627-7279.
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