This February, McMaster University led a study about health precautions during pandemics and topics brought about mainly included closing elementary and secondary schools to help slow the outbreak of pandemics.
Supporting arguments and details include the Alberta school case. In Alberta during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, research shows that during the summer, when schools were closed, person to person transmission was decreased drastically. The leader of the study, author David Earn firmly believes that children are the number one "drivers" when it comes to transmitting disease.
During the first, and second, wave of the pandemic Alberta was the only Canadian province to have extensive virologic testing. As the pandemic continued on they were able to realize what incidence happened with each outbreak. They were able to demonstrate that transmission of disease stopped by at least fifty percent.
Those included in this study strongly urge to close schools during pandemics to stop spread of disease. This article relates to what we learn in class because we always cover what to do in case of pandemics, and what measures need to be taken. Safety precautions are one of the most important factors when it comes to pandemics and need to be treated as such.
This article really relates to what we have been studying in class over the last few weeks. With the flu being such a serious, yet sometimes overlooked, disease, it is important for regions to take the proper safety precautions while the disease is at its peak. This article talks about how when the schools were closed, the intensity of the spread of the flu was decreased significantly. I think this is an important statistic because it really shows how kids and teenagers in school systems are easily susceptible to giving and receiving such diseases. I think a reason why children are seen as the number one "drivers", as said by the author, is because often times kids do not take the time to wash their hands and perform basic safety procedures, and then are playing outside and working in the classrooms with many other students. This article ties right into our unit now because we are learning about how not just schools, but all public buildings, were forced to be shut down during the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post because of how relevant it is to what we're learning. It also reminded me of my freshman year of High School when H1N1 was a big deal. I can remember Drama Club meetings and parties being canceled because they didn't want anyone to get sick, spread the disease, or have to miss performing in our musical. I agree with the comment above me, when she states that it is a lot easier for sickness and disease to spread among high schools kids. It may not always be necessary to completely cancel school, but it would be a good idea to take precautionary actions and limit big group gatherings as much as possible. It would also be beneficial to have hand sanitizer dispensers during a big endemic.
ReplyDeleteThis article is relavent to what were studying in class because during the 1918 influenza pandemic schools were closed to prevent the spread of disease. I agree that closing schools would decrease the spread of disease. When thinking about children. I agree they are the number one "driver" of spreading disease because they are too young to understand. They know that when your sick your supposed to wash your hands but they dont realize why. They dont understand that washing your hands gets rid of germs. In school, children sit next to eachother, play with eachother, and touch the same toys. Germs spread easily in schools. Children also do not realize that they should cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing. I totally agree that closing schools would decrease the number of cases and would decrease the spread of disease.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting article to read, because it relates to what we are doing in class now. It reminds me of the readings we did for the socratic seminar and what we have been discussing these past few weeks about the influenza pandemic. Many schools were closed because of the pandemic and today if we had an outbreak this could be a precaution to take that may be helpful. I believe that closing schools would help to slow down the spread of disease. Kids are together all day at school so I agree with that statement that says kids are the "drivers" of spreading disease. It is important to take these precautions to help slow down and prevent the spread of disease.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article as it pretty much directly relates to what we have just beed doing in class. I found it interesting that when school was not in session person to person contact went way down. But this could also be because flu is less prevalent in the summer.
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