There are some vaccine trials (drug treatments too) recruiting volunteers, especially if you live near an academic research institution. Here is the list of ongoing trials, you have to filter for vaccines and then can see where the sites are where one can enroll.
In general, yes, but it bears mentioning that Wayne State has lost 2 students and at least one staff member to COVID-19 already. It’s not zero.
Would you recommend that college students practice variolation* with SARS-CoV-2 this summer so that they can get COVID-19 over with when it will not be inconvenient to get it during school (and be less likely to spread it to others if they live in a college dorm in the fall)?
*Variolation = intentionally getting infected with a low dose the actual virus to try to get immunity through a (hoped for) less severe instance of the sickness. This was practiced with smallpox before it was discovered that cowpox and other related viruses had a vaccination effect.
@twoinanddone And just a heads up, saying “all these mentally ill people” to refer to those with mental health issues is NOT OKAY.
SARS-CoV(-1) / SARS was easier to control because its contagious period was also the symptomatic period, while SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 is highly contagious while the infected person is asymptomatic.
Deaths from covid-19 will likely never be zero again.
I don’t see any vaccine trials in Massachusetts - the closest one seems to be in Maryland? Please tell me how to find it if I’m wrong. I’ve been looking every few days.
SARS was also more deadly. It couldn’t transmit again once it killed its host.
@Empireapple , not only was Sars 1 a very different virus and disease, it also did not burn itself out, but was contained with a heavy testing and tracking effort.
I agree with you that summer/high temperatures/UV radiation/outside living seem to help and sone areas of the world are luckier than others in being able to maximize their benefits, but that does not preclude a second wave on fall unless it is contained. With sustained effort.
One concern I am hearing is from faculty about their possible exposure. It’s not just about the students. The typical tenured faculty member is in his/her 50s. It seems increasingly clear that the virus is spread in crowded rooms where people are breathing, speaking, and coughing, i.e. a typical college classroom or dining hall. There has been discussion about installing plexiglas screens between the lecture area and the student seating area (like those in the supermarket) or having faculty wear clear face shields while working. There has been talk about how to observe and review student in-class work while remaining at least 6 feet away.
My campus cannot accommodate its current number of students while still maintaining social distancing. So if we’re to open in the fall (assuming no vaccine or reliable and extensive testing), we will have to limit campus access to students who are 1) enrolled in labs that cannot be duplicated virtually online; 2) students enrolled in studio art classes. Any class that can possibly be delivered online, will be. There will be housing only for OOS students and very reduced dining services. That’s my guess.
In defense of NY, where were those patients supposed to go? We are talking about people who live in nursing homes and usually have multiple chronic medical problems, as well as limited mobility and sometimes dementia. They need specialized care. In this case, they were treated for Covid-19 in the hospital, had recovered, and were ready for discharge.
Hospitals were treating people in hallways and conference rooms. Beds were needed, urgently. Neither nursing homes nor hospitals were prepared for the sheer scale of the problem. Neither had spent money to make sure there were separate facilities standing empty, with PPE and the necessary staff and equipment to take care of these people who might still be shedding virus.
They could not send people to the US Navy ship Comfort or the Javits Center during the surge because both facilities had designated themselves as “non-Covid”. In order to be admitted to the Comfort, patients had to have a proven negative Covid test. The Comfort also had a list of 49 other diagnoses which they would not accept, and patients could not require more than one nursing visit in 24 hours. By the time these two facilities agreed to take Covid positive patients, the surge was over. They still had many restrictions on who they would admit—definitely not nursing home patients.
What “created a bigger disaster” was that we were not prepared for a pandemic. Which state was? Since this is off topic, I will not post any more about it.
People should evaluate their personal situation knowing their risk and vulnerability.
While social distancing plus a mask seems to be most helpful in containing the spread, I though most rules are masks required where social distancing is not possible? I agree that social distancing is not going to be possible at many places, including colleges, workplaces, commuter trains, planes, etc…so masks will be required in those situations.
Some people seem to think faculty are eager to return to campus and are comfortable with the idea that trying to social distance and using a mask might reduce the likelihood of catching a deadly virus and passing it to their spouses and children. I think that’s wishful thinking. They also seem to believe that if faculty can’t return in person they’ll be eager to do hybrid classes. I think that’s wishful thinking too. Faculty don’t want to die. And they don’t want to endanger the lives of their spouses, children, parents, or coworkers (no matter how little some college students seem to think of them or how expendable they believe low income workers are).
Some students may be allowed back to campus in the fall. Those with lab classes and other courses that really need to be done in person could be allowed back if they have enough housing to create adequate social distancing. But allowing students to return to campus is no guarantee that faculty will. Given the choice between totally online and hybrid, the choice seems to be strongly in favor of the continuity all online would provide.
@Mwfan1921 wrote:
I’ve only seen that with regard to outdoor interactions, like runners passing close by other people.
Traditionally, wouldn’t this be an example of something where the CDC would step in and issue a best practice recommendation? But, seems like they too have been knee-capped.
Uh, no. I don’t know of anyone who thinks faculty/teachers are ‘eager’ for hybrid classes. They will teach that way bcos they have no choice (or take sabbattical/quit/retire). Any faculty member who is at risk has a ADA right for accomodations, and that likely means a virtual class.
I don’t think anyone expects the faculty to like returning to campus, why would they when they are getting paid from home? The question is will the college even survive if it continues to stay online.
That works for consumers, but it doesn’t work for employees. It’s a working conditions issue as far as faculty are concerned. Unlike meatpacking workers, unionized faculty have a lot of power within their institutions (relatively speaking) and are unlikely to tolerate being told that they have to “choose” to teach in situations they consider dangerous, or stay home. In fact at my school we have talked about how the tenured faculty have an obligation to force administration to maintain safe working conditions, because non-tenured and contingent faculty should not be forced to take on the “dangerous” work of in-person interactions for hours at a time in crowded, unsanitary classrooms while the tenured faculty stay home.
Huh? I would think that a reading of CDC’s current mask guidelines covers runners. (Hint: ‘wear masks in “public settings” when social distancing cannot be maintained’.)
I can say with confidence that the vast majority of faculty much prefer teaching in person, on campus. Online instruction is tedious and ungratifying. Not one colleague of mine at any institution expressed happiness or gratitude at being able to “work from home.” We are also unable to go to labs, to libraries, to conferences, to give papers. Our entire professional lives have been ruined for the time being.
We are also extremely aware of the economic fragility of our institutions. We know our paychecks aren’t guaranteed in perpetuity. Contract instructors have already been let go. Tenure doesn’t mean “lifetime employment no matter what;” it means that you’re the last to be let go if the college fails, and after you’ve already taken pay cuts.
Chiming in as a HS teacher, I would SO MUCH rather be in person with my kids, in my classroom and lab, and working with my colleagues. I love being at work and doing it right. Working “from home” feels like teaching with one hand or more tied behind my back. Today I had to help a kid with some problem solving and it is much, much for frustrating for all involved.
But, you know, I also don’t want to die.