Implement a 2 week pause from in person learning
Implement a 2 week pause from in person learning
To Whom It May Concern:
As Certified School Nurses of Philadelphia, we are deeply concerned about the COVID-19 Pandemic and the return to in-person learning during the current Omicron surge. Nurses support in-person learning however, a two-week pause and virtual learning is warranted in order to safely manage this time of drastically increased cases. In the last 14 days there’s been a 293% increase of cases in Philadelphia (Reference 1).
As of December 21, 2021 only 21% of Philadelphia’s eligible children have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose (Reference 2). With 79% of our students unvaccinated, we are concerned about this most vulnerable population.
The high contagion of the Omicron strain, the shortage of school nursing staff, and inadequate supply of COVID-19 tests in schools and at testing sites calls for more support in each school building to address this current surge.
Please reconsider how to allocate COVID-19 relief funds. Nurses are questioning if COVID-19 relief funds are being adequately utilized for COVID-19 mitigation management and assistance for nursing staff in our schools.
As on-site pediatric health professionals, Certified School Nurses must be heard. We can offer valuable insight into how to handle this crisis in the school setting.
We cannot imagine the pain the teachers and families at Olney Charter High School are experiencing after the tragic death of Alayna Thach, an unvaccinated student who passed away from COVID-19. We do not want our communities to experience the same tragic loss.
We strongly urge the School District of Philadelphia to take a two week pause from in-person learning to address the emerging COVID-19 trend.
References:
1.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/philadelphia-pennsylvania-covid-cases.html