What Parents Should Have on Back to School Lists

Anticipation is growing with more schools opening for the new school year this month and also growing is concern over the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

While people who are fully vaccinated are well protected against it, people who are not vaccinated are not, with almost all hospitalizations now among those who have not had the vaccine. With no vaccine available yet for kids under 12, parents are asking questions about how to protect their kids as they head back to school.

A pediatrician in Orange County told the L-A Times she has seen an increase in infections among kids I recent weeks, as well as a rise among the parents who are vaccinating eligible children.

As Dr. Katherine Williamson put it, “Parents should be making sure that they’re doing everything they can to keep their kids safe when they have an unvaccinated child in their family.” The pediatrician says it is possible to keep the younger kids protected, with the right guidelines at school and by increasing vaccinations among all those 12 and over.

While serious cases of the COVID virus are uncommon among kids, health experts say they could spread it to an unvaccinated adult member of the family or an extended family who’s more at risk for a serious case of the virus.

So as parents prepare their kids for a return to the classroom, getting themselves vaccinated and urging others with whom their kids can come in contact to do the same, should probably be on their “finally back to school” list.

(Photo Getty Images)