New CDC: Anatomy of a school superspreader event

[bigtree]

AI6YR @ai6yrham 1h
New CDC study on a superspreader event due to an elementary school #teacher working with symptoms, unmasked, and infecting 50 percent of the class (plus many secondary/tertiary cases). #pandemic

Michael Stratford @mstratford · 2h
New from @CDCMMWR: Unvaxed Marin County, Calif. elementary school teacher continues to work for 2 days with symptoms, reading out loud to class unmasked (contra school policy).

50% of class gets covid -- with risk highest in front rows near teacher.

PDF: https://t.co/yi6MR7SNFt

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm?s_cid=mm7035e2_w

[MyOwnPeace]

1. Well, I guess their

'Active Shooter' drills and bullet-proof backpacks didn't help too much in this class.......

But I'm sure the RepubliQans and the NRA will be sending special "Thoughts and Prayers...."

[nitpicker]

2. Self-censoring

Lest I violate TOS in attributing why this teacher showed up.

[haele]

3. I'll tell you why she showed up...

Because like a lot of teachers, she thinks "a mild case of the sniffles" shouldn't keep her from teaching her little darlings, and she didn't think COVID was a big deal, or was a Liberal hoax.
I've had teachers do that when I was at school. They pretend to themselves they're being heroic, when they just don't want to use sick or leave time.

Ignorant, self-centered people will get teaching and nursing credentials just as often as intelligent, dedicated people do.

Hope the stupid teacher didn't kill any of her co-workers, students, or any of the student's family members.

Haele

[ffr]

4. +1

What kind of a person, exposed to other people's children doesn't give them the respect they would give their own children?

I hope the parents, many of whom also got infected, sue her personally for everything she's got. Ruin her!

[plimsoll]

6. A parent and spouse are teachers.

My mom had to go to a doctor to take sick leave when she started. She went in sick plenty of times, and there was nothing heroic about just the reality that you had to be pretty sick to be allowed to use your sick leave.

My wife doesn't use sick leave very often either. Bringing in a substitute can be very disruptive. You can usually throw the lesson plan out the window. The kids won't pick up where they would have been before you were sick, so you often go back two steps. For the teacher that means rebuilding the lesson plans assuming nothing will have moved forward while you were out and then play catch up for X number of days.

Now why you would teach during a global pandemic. That is a special case of stupid right there.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Your Wife's School Needs Better Subs

When I sub, (science & math, grade 6-12), not an hour is lost for those students.
The lesson plan gets executed exactly as if they were there.
I'm not unique.
Sounds to me like there's a sub recruitment problem in that district.

[plimsoll]

8. Statewide.

They know who the good subs are, but they're usually not available "morning of." You get what you get, and it's not always pretty.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Aha!

See, I AM the morning of guy! Now, I take advanced notice gigs, mostly in the winter, but 60% or more of my assignments are those I take between 9pm the night before to 7am, day of.
Of course, I get a dozen or more calls a week, so I admit to picking & choosing.
I'm a retired scientist, and I don't need the money so I work around 3 days a week from mid-October to mid-March.
Then, 5 or 6 days a month the other 3 & 1/2 months.
In fact, I did 7th grade math today, and I got a text about it at 10 'til 10 last night. On the way to that school (6:50 or so) I had a principal from another school (small) call, looking for 6-8 math.
I will acknowledge there are a few subs I've seen that read the daily assignment, then jump on their phone to read Twitter. But, it's a few out of many. Always some chaff within the wheat.
But, for it to be as bad as you describe, statewide, is surprising.
What state is it?

[plimsoll]

10. Washington.

But two things you said explain your position. 1: You're retired and don't need the money. 2: You get multiple calls per week. You can pick and choose. I'm going to assume you may be that top of the pile substitute. I recollect good substitutes and bad substitutes, but when there was some version of the flu going around the quality definitely fell.

And I don't really blame the subs, going into an elementary classroom and trying to keep everyone marching forward is going to be a challenge for anyone. My beef is claiming the teachers in general go to work sick to look like heros.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. I Buy That

I did see a difference around here during COVID. I got way more 1 day calls than the prior 2 years because teachers weren't doing that as much. I ran into almost no teachers that should have stayed home this past year.
Before that, I saw exactly what you described.

[Mr.Bill]

5. Huge amount of anti-vax people in Marin County.

I wonder if she was one of them.

[soldierant]

12. Almost had to be.

I find that discouraging. I had the impression that Marin County was somewhat sane.

[Mr.Bill]

13. Some odd contrasts there.

We used to joke back in the 70s that they would take illegal drugs they bought from some very shaky people but acted like processed sugar was rat poison.

[democrattotheend]

14. How are the kids doing?

Are any of them dead or hospitalized?