UNC expert: Vaccinated students, parents should feel safer about back-to-school
As the holiday break from school winds down, COVID-19 cases among children are rising. Districts across the state are preparing to reopen schools next week with the new threat of the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Dr. Kathy Merritt, a pediatrician at Chapel Hill Pediatrics, said COVID-19 case numbers have increased significantly at her office in the last two weeks.
"In the last two weeks we’ve had an increase of up to probably 10% of cases that we’re testing. Prior to that, we were less than 2% to 3%,” said Merritt.
Dr. Zach Willis, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at UNC Children's Hospital, said that vaccinated children and their parents should feel safer about heading back into the classroom.
"If you’re nervous yourself, take this opportunity before school starts back up to get that first dose," Willis said. "I think your child will be a whole lot safer going in."
At least 31 children are hospitalized across the state with COVID-19, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Willis said he has yet to see a vaccinated child hospitalized at UNC Health with COVID-19.
"The children we’ve seen get admitted over the last few days are either too young to get vaccinated or are not vaccinated," he said.
Some Wake County parents are reconsidering sending their children back for the new semester. WRAL News heard similar concerns from parents at the start of the school year in August as the delta variant surged.
Aditi Sharma has been doing her classroom from her home desk for the past two years. She hasn't been back to school since she was in kindergarten. Sharma is now in second grade — and fully vaccinated.
"She’s been struggling in school at home, so we knew her being in person was really important for her success," said her mother, Mandi Sharma.
Her mom made the decision to send her daughter back to school in person in the new year, but that was before the omicron variant.
"Worrying about her getting it at school and then passing it on to her little sister, that’s also something we’re thinking about," Mandi Sharma said. "I’m taking deep breaths and just kind of going with it."
Christa Morrison, a parent of a Wake County sixth grader, said she is concerned for her daughter's health.
"As the COVID numbers are increasing, there's not a whole lot of things that have been done to keep our kids safe in schools," she said. Her daughter is at high-risk for coronavirus and Morrison worries about sending her back to school on Monday.
Willis said he understands parents who think that school "seems too risky right now," but urges that people who are vaccinated and boosted are well-protected.
A letter sent out by the school system urged parents to take part in the district's weekly COVID-19 testing clinic and reminded them to stay vigilant.
The district is not considering switching to virtual learning at this time, according to a spokesperson for the district.
Roxie Cash, member of the Wake County Board of Education, told WRAL News that she would not support a return to virtual learning and to her knowledge, virtual learning was not being discussed.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed a law in August that allows individual schools or classrooms to shift to virtual learning due to COVID-19 exposures, however, school boards would have to hold public meetings to make any changes to the schedule.
Wake County's school board will not meet until Tuesday, two days into the new semester.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 9,377 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday — a number not seen in a single day since Sept. 11. That's a 90% increase when compared to last Wednesday.
Six people are testing positive for COVID-19 every minute in North Carolina, according to an analysis from WRAL Data Trackers.
More than 2,100 people are hospitalized across the state with COVID-19. That's a more than 20% increase from last week, according to state data.
