As schools across the country grapple with bringing kids back into the classroom, parents — and teachers — are worried about safety. We asked pediatricians, infectious disease specialists and education experts for help evaluating school district plans.
What we learned: There's no such thing as zero risk, but certain practices can lower the risk of an outbreak at school and keep kids, teachers and families safer. Policies that reduce the number of people any child or teacher spends time with, as well as smart planning for what to do if anyone gets symptoms can make a difference, according to our experts.
Flu shots will be in stock at doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets by early September. And thought flu season doesn't really begin until October, because of changes wrought by COVID-19, now is the time to start thinking about when, how and where you'll get your shot.
"No year is a good year to get the flu, but this year — with COVID-19 also raging — it's especially bad," says epidemiologist Mark Thompson.
Emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are often flooded with flu patients during winter months, he explains. So getting a flu shot can help prevent those visits — and the risk of COVID exposure. But it's going to be more complicated to get one this year too.
We've all been there. Waiting in the checkout line with someone who's not wearing a mask, or with someone standing too close, our anxiety growing, as we think, Should I say something?
We have advice for how to handle this and other pandemic awkwardness from Elaine Swann, founder of the Swann School of Protocol, an etiquette training institute. She trains people on good manners. Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, she has been helping people navigate some tricky new social dilemmas — like my convenience store situation.
Although we are living through a pandemic, says Swann, people still want to treat each other with kindness and respect — and "conduct themselves so that they're not offending others, not hurting other people's feelings."
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