With schools set to resume in just a few weeks, Rebecca Johnson, director of the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments, is in panic mode.
The COVID-19 pandemic is nowhere close to being eradicated and even though a vaccine is available, not enough people are taking advantage, putting local students at risk.
“Some children may not have as serious of symptoms as adults,” if they contract the virus, Johnson wrote in a July 27 email. “But they can still get sick as well as carry it home to their parents, grandparents or others who are immunocompromised,” including fellow classmates.
The new delta variant of COVID has surfaced in each of the department’s four counties — Allen, Anderson, Bourbon and Woodson, Johnson said.
Because it is more virulent and more easily transmissible, health officials are on high alert.
The delta strain is responsible for more than 80% of new cases, largely among the unvaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Johnson said the health department is seeing gaining interest in the Pfizer vaccine available to youths age 12 and older. The vaccine is available — at no cost — through the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, chcsek.org, or call 620-380-6600.
Johnson said some parents are hesitant to protect their children against the virus, but oftentimes a conversation with a health professional about the vaccine’s efficacy and safety can put them at ease.
There’s also strength in numbers. Seeing that almost 165 million Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, helps reinforce its benefits.
Nationally, about 42% of those age 12 through 17 have received the first of two doses of the vaccine. “Getting your child vaccinated may be what keeps them from having to be quarantined from school,” if exposed to the virus, Johnson said, as well as reducing their own risks.
Johnson also looks at the vaccine from a practical perspective. “Getting your child vaccinated may be what keeps them from having to be quarantined from school,” if exposed to the virus, Johnson said, as well as reducing their own risks.
The local department is seeing more cases of COVID-19 among youths, Johnson said, though the majority is among adults.
In Allen County, 37 positive cases were reported last week. The county’s death toll to the virus is 20.
Johnson emphatically recommends local schools require unvaccinated teachers, staff and students wear face masks and practice social distancing when school resumes.
