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I want to add that the whole mask in schools uproar is craziness. Both Mazzy and Harlow wore masks to school all year last year and there was no psychological damage! It was really no big deal. Kids are used to following rules and followed the mask rule with no complaints. They even wear it voluntarily when they are outside of school.

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Germany; but I work in medical publishing. I speak with doctors/nurses across the US every week. And they are seeing their hospitals fill up again with COVID cases. Mount Sinai in NYC just had to re-convert their ICU back into a COVID-19 ward. It is not just that Delta is so much more easily transmitted than the previous variants...its protein "sticks" are "stickier (someone explained it as if the original Covid variant was like syrup, Delta is like Gorilla Glue). In addition, there is growing evidence that mRNA vaccinations become less effective at stopping infection between 7-8 months. This is why you are hearing about more "breakthrough" infections. (TO BE CLEAR: vaccinations are preventing more serious cases for occurring so vaccinations WORK. But if you got your vaccination in December/January/February, if you can get a booster, do so.)

I'm not saying this to make anyone scared, but I do want people to know that this pandemic is far from over...keep up with the masks and social distance. They make a difference.

And....we are now hearing about Lambda variant. Less is known here but again, until more IS known, keep up with the methods we know help stop the spread.

(My kids, 13 and 11 first day of school was today. Anxiously waiting for when my 11 year-old can get vaccinated. The school they go to has everyone in masks, social distancing, etc. etc.)

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Florida here. It is a shit show. My daughter tested positive after the 4th day of school. She definitely got it from school. She is masked but that only protects others. So her classmates who either are not masked or don’t wear their masks correctly are not protecting her. We are fighting the school board and superintendent (who is in the governor’s back pocket politically) to enforce a mandate.

This has been a disaster. The county can’t contact trace fast enough and they are so backlogged. The numbers are not accurate because they only count it as a positive case once the covid “team” speak to the parents to begin the process. This also means that other children are not quarantining in timely fashions.

I could go on because it’s all I have been raging about this last week.

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We are in Greenville, SC, and we were concerned enough about delta to stay virtual for our kindergartener and 3rd grader. I’m sure many have heard that our state tied our mask ban to school funding. Some districts have defied the governor to help keep our unvaccinated kids safe, but our district isn’t one of them. Additionally, our state is one of the lowest in vaccination rates, and mask mocking has become a thing around here. A large portion of the teacher population in this part of the state isn’t vaccinated either and some won’t help students remember to mask if their parents have requested it. As a teacher, I don’t regret my decision to resign and keep these kids home.

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founding

We just started school last Wednesday. We live in the SF Bay Area and we have higher vaccination rates. People here wear their masks for the most part. Our family does socialize but we are outside when we do (hello drought) and those we associate with are fully vaccinated (adults) whose kids don’t do any hanging out with others who are unvaccinated, unmasked while indoors. My kid is six and in first grade. Truly, I feel like I’m playing a horrible game of chicken. We all are desperately waiting for his age group to be cleared for the vaccine. I pray for emergency authorization. My kid did zoom kindergarten last year and it compromised our relationship and both he and I fell into deep depression. So this year he is in person for the first time and It’s first grade. When asked if he was excited about school he said he was more uncomfortable… nervous. When I asked what about thinking he would say a new teacher, making friends, or just the general newness of in person school, none of that was on his mind. “Mama, I’m going to be around a lot of unvaccinated people.” And he is. He’s not wrong. Our district has a mask requirement (thank gawd!) and extra hygiene practices are still in place. They track cases and notify classrooms and the whole school if there’s a confirmed case. The communication at school about COVID stuff is lacking. It’s “we are looking at what other districts are doing and formulating a plan,” which translates to, “we have no fucking plan,” to the parents who care about this. I find comfort in the fact that there are A LOT of angry parents when information is slow to come. And yeah, I’m terrified of Delta. The other day when you went to the fair and there were all those unmasked people, that gave me anxiety. I couldn’t have gone to that. When I see crowds of unmasked people online, I have a hard time. People with masks, I feel so much more at ease. If the same fair had everyone masked, I would have been able to think, “wow, that’s so awesome!” And that’s not a judgement call on how you move through the world but rather my general distrust of people in large and unmasked groups even outside. Delta really scares me. The ignorance and lack of community care really scare me too. I don’t understand states that seem like they want their children to be sacrificial offerings on the COVID altar. As for masks, my six year old has been wearing one since he just turned five. Not one complaint, ever. He saw that mask wearing was his ticket to being able to go out. He now sees it as his one thing he can do to help the world heal. He’s also a BIG evangelical when it comes to vaccinations. He’s incredulous when he hears people won’t get a vaccine. We talk a lot about the science. I’ve caught him having talks with his reluctant five year old friend, “no one likes shots but when we are vaccinated we will be giving our immune system some help in fighting COVID. Also, get your parents to take you to a target to pick out a toy and to get an ice cream. And we probably get to do that two times! You should really get the shot.”

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I’m from Florida and I have to be honest, I get really uncomfortable watching you go about your day going to places with your kids. I traveled throughout the summer with my kids (9,14,18), but with some discomfort and worry. Up until a few weeks ago when both my ex-husband and my father, both fully vaccinated, got Covid from unvaccinated people (two separate incidents). Although their symptoms were not life threatening, it was definitely worse than the flu. Loss of appetite, loss of smell, fatigue to the point of sleeping most of the day, etc. Both have now recovered but it was quite scary to me that either one could have given it to my little one. I am also a teacher and schools started today. I have been quarantined because an unvaccinated adult was sick at work. Now 3 teachers and 4 paraprofessionals have been quarantined. I am really thankful that no children were exposed. This is insane. People need to get vaccinated otherwise more vaccinated people will get sick and pass it on to the children.

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I live in Texas and I am an RN. Things are a disaster here and the children testing positive and being hospitalized left and right. The percentage of children testing positive is growing exponentially and we are in a state that the governor has made it illegal to require masks in schools. Its a mess, and that doesn't even begin to address what the reproductions of long covid in children will be. The public schools in the area have hundreds of positive kids with only a few days of school already.

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Another problem I've had with bringing back some of our precautions is how to navigate friendships. I'm no longer comfortable socializing with unvaccinated adult households (I would kick myself if after being careful for a year and a half we exposed my 13 month old). Makes it tough to navigate some relationships though when you have a different risk tolerance than others. COVID stinks.

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I am an RN in Reno, Nevada and I have been seeing an alarming uptick in young people being hospitalized. Not so much children here but people in their 20s and 30s. Almost all of them are unvaccinated or had only received the first shot and weren’t two weeks out. The few that were fully vaccinated and being admitted have been 70-80 year olds. I have two boys, 8 and 6, going to in person school but the governor here has mandated masks in my county which I am happy about. The part that scares me is other people making bad decisions. We have a middle school here where parents sent their son who they knew had tested positive for covid to school and he gave it to 40 people. My husband and I are both vaccinated but we are continuing to wear masks and social distance. I still do a grocery pick up instead of going inside. There is so much smoke here from all the fires in California that I feel are keeping people inside more (school is actually cancelled today because of it). But I think the smoke is making things worse for the people who do have covid. I am nervous about it for my kids. I can’t control what they do and who they’re with at school and that gives me anxiety haha. I know they are good about their masks and using hand sanitizer but it’s the other kids (and mostly their parents) that scare me.

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We relaxed and shouldn't have. Our whole family has been fully vaccinated for months. We took a trip to Houston to visit our college-aged daughter and ate inside restaurants. My husband got Covid a week later. He was not hospitalized and did not have trouble breathing but he was really sick - fever, cough, sneezing, achey, stomach problems, couldn't focus. He was pretty out of it for several days, and we are all stick stuck in the house under quarantine (small house, one bathroom - no way to isolate).

I am back in hypervigilant mode now - we aren't going anywhere that is not essential once we are allowed to go back out. No restaurants, only the grocery store, work (I can't really work from home), and gas. And we are definitely wearing masks everywhere. Our county has an indoor mask mandate, but even if they didn't, we would be.

It really sucks that we got a whole year into the pandemic, did everything right, thought we were safe because we were vaccinated, and then my husband got sick.

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Ireland.

Delta was our big talking point in April and May, when most of the country was still waiting to be vaxxed. We now have very high rates of vaccination (about 80% of the country), but covid numbers are increasing, driven by children and young people (who only recently became eligible for vaccination).

We finished lockdown a couple of months ago but still have a lot of restrictions compared to the US and the rest of the EU. After months of watching Americans acting like covid was over - as delta took hold here -, it's strange to see the reverse in action. We're now so used to delta and the high levels of more minor disease that most people are becoming more relaxed here - myself included; restaurants re-opened at the end of July and wild horses couldn't keep me away. Our high vaccine uptake and low levels of covid denial also help.

I do wonder if our population being more recently vaccinated than in the US is creating a difference. Only our healthcare workers were vaccinated at the time vaccines were available throughout the US, and that is where we are now seeing more serious breakthrough infections. It seems boosters will be necessary, but I'm reluctant to support them when people in other countries have had no shots. We'll end up with an omega variant yet because developed countries are hogging the vaccines, leaving covid to mutate in unvaccinated, immuno-suppressed people elsewhere!

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I'm in Texas, so things aren't looking so good here. Unfortunately, we're basically having our worst wave of the pandemic so far. I've been feeling waves of anger and helplessness that we're surrounded by a community who refuses to help themselves and others by getting vaccinated. Our hospitals are full, some are setting up tents outside, yet our governor has tried to prevent schools from doing something as basic and common sense as requiring masks. He's now been stopped by the Texas Supreme Court, but the issue is so politicized, that some school districts (including ours) are hesitate to issue a mask mandate for fear of the backlash from parents. Our superintendent sent out a video on Friday, basically begging people to send their kids in a masks, so we can keep our schools open. As far as how we've adjusted our lives, I've started wearing a mask again in some instances, and send my kids to school in a mask, but other than that we're basically living our lives, and just waiting on the edge of our seat for vaccines for kids to be approved and our turn for a booster shot. Seeing more and more vaccinated people have breakthrough infections does make me nervous, but I don't really know what to do about it.

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We slightly loosened what we were doing once all adults in our families and friend circle were vaccinated. We have outdoor get togethers with friends without masks. We see my parents and my in laws indoors without masks. We have eaten at restaurants outdoors 4 times. But otherwise we wear masks anytime we go inside. My daughter, who is 6, has not gone in a friends house since March 2020. Masks don’t bother her. School starts next week and masks are required, but lots of the other protocols have loosened. I am super worried. I feel like we shut down the country to protect the older population last year (which was the right call) but now that children are being impacted in an increasing way people just don’t care. It’s frustrating and scary.

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Live in Palm Beach County, FL. All of our friends are vaccinated, but we have four kids age 6 and under that we need to think about. School started two weeks ago, with masks required unless a parent opts kids out. The opt-out clause was revoked as of today, which is a huge relief, although it could mean less funding for us in the future due to DeSantis' decision to punish districts who required masks (seriously??). We are still seeing a core group of neighbors who we saw all through quarantine, although with stories of vaccinated people still getting sick, I'm starting to become more nervous. It's been so ungodly hot, so it's hard to be outdoors unless you're in the pool. I'm curious to see if the kids vaccine will adjust for the Delta variant? If not, it will only be so helpful (but better than nothing)...

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founding

WOW - I commented early but came back today to see what else was posted. What a great forum for real first hand accounts across the country on how Covid is affecting day to day living. This may be my new "news" source. Reliable, honest and real.

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I live in Auckland, New Zealand. We are in the middle of our second community outbreak of covid and it's the Delta variant. We were covid free until a week ago, and living life as normal. When the first case of Delta was reported we went into a hard and fast lockdown nationwide. Only essential services are allowed to be open and we have to wear masks when outside our homes no matter what. Our vaccination roll out was going quite slowly but this has forced the government to allow the age bands to book it earlier than planned and now we are seeing record numbers being vaccinated. We will only be back out of lockdown once the Delta variant has been contained.

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Central Texas here and we are a hot spot thanks to a batshit governor who really wants to be on the national scene in 2024, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers and 60,000 college kids who rolled into town this weekend without a shot mandate from the university. Full classes, masks optional. The "older" people here seem to think we are safe now for some reason. Was at a luncheon for 150 people and only 3 of us wore masks. One person came after having been exposed the week before. She tested negative and so sailed in without a masks. Have no clue if anyone at that event was positive and the only way we will know is through the text message grapevine. No clear way to report or contact trace here. <sigh> Just hunkering down again, wearing my mask everywhere and trying not to slap the stupid people.

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I’m in Western CT, and our district is asking for masks to be worn indoors by everyone regardless of vaccination status. While there are a few clamoring for “unmasking kids”, the altercations have not been as contentious as in other parts of the country. Our state has a great vaccination rate, but as a microbiologist with a deep knowledge of how viruses like this one evolve, I’m terrified of what will come to pass if people do not get their heads out of their rear. At the beginning of this mess I naively thought public health would never be politicized…18 months later I feel a right imbecile for being so naive.

We are flying to visit my elderly parents, a trip I booked in May, and though we have no reason to think we may have been exposed, we continue to see no one and never stopped masking up, we all go tested today (all negative) and will wear masks when seeing my parents even though we are all vaccinated but my 7 year old. I could NEVER live with myself if by chance I got someone sick.

I have been coaching my kids to wear their masks correctly making the point on how important it is for their well being and that of others. I find kids are not the culprits in this mess, their guardians that should know better are to blame.

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I'm in Texas and we went back to school this week. I live in an area where our school district defied the governor's orders and is "requiring" masks - but then they gave the parents the choice to opt-out *insert eye roll here*. We are definitely worried about Delta and we're just taking all the precautions we can, but still living a fairly normal life. We are masking when indoors again (even though my husband and I are vaccinated) and we're just hoping for the best with the kids. My greatest fear is that the kids are exposed and we don't even know about it. The reporting of positive cases in our schools is not being handled like it was last year. We're not going to get specifics about what class the positive child was in, and they're not mandating quarantine. Just trusting parents to do the right thing does NOT work out. We know this just from past flu seasons!! So I'm just over here waiting for that vaccine for my 8 and 11 year olds... that approval can't come soon enough.

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We're in Oregon. The state is requiring masks, social distancing and vaccinations for all adults, and thankfully our school district typically does the right thing when it comes to COVID. That said, I'm freaking out about Delta and won't let my guard down till my 8 yr old and 11 yr old are vaccinated. We're back to isolating at home and I'm very worried that masks won't be enough to keep my kids safe at school. I feel like we can't use school last year as a predictor of safety because COVID wasn't as transmissible as it is now. I keep questioning our decision, but I can't keep them at home again this year, so I find myself getting increasingly angry at the people who are refusing to get vaccinated and are ruining it for the rest of us.

We recently had a social get together with some vaccinated friends (all of the kids were not vaccinated obviously) and a few days later, our kids came down with colds. Of course, cold symptoms can be the same as COVID symptoms, so we're waiting for test results to confirm it's not. I don't think we'll do another get together like that again and will require masks with everyone till our kids are vaccinated.

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We are in the SF Bay Area, similar to NYC in terms of masking and vaccination requirements. I have eaten out 4 times (outdoors) this summer, and not going to do it again until after my 6 year old is vaccinated. I'm also considering not going on a work trip in November unless she's fully vaccinated before that, and definitely skipping a large in person event in September locally. Both of these put me in a less than ideal position at work, but weighed against putting her in the hospital for a serious illness and a chance of long term health issues, it's fine with me to skip them. We never stopped masking in public since she still has to do that as an unvaccinated person here in CA, so Delta didn't change that, but it has changed whether I as a vaccinated person will go out and do some social things that I had thought would be ok back in June. I also was about to put her into a gymnastics class again and switch from virtual to in person ballet (both with masks) back in June, but now with Delta I'm holding off on both of those until she's vaccinated. Being back in school in person is the biggest and most worthwhile risk we're taking with her right now. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be a vaccine available for her age group in the fall, as at least then she's protected from the most serious outcomes. And if you look at the data, it still says the same thing as 2 weeks ago: the VAST majority of hospitalized cases are in unvaccinated people.

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St Louis, MO here. Our area is divided into two: St Louis City and St Louis county. In the city, the mayor of the city handles mask mandates etc. In the county (where I live) we have what is called a county executive-essentially the executive branch of the government for our county. Luckily, our county executive is an MD, who I have worked alongside as an RN and trust his competency and judgment. Back in July, the city mayor and our executive made the decision to require masks, then the MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL sued them to end the mask mandate. They then had a county council meeting where the council voted to ban the mask mandate. It’s such a shit show here now, I have friends who still work in the ED at one of the level 1 trauma centers here, they are constantly having 30-50+ in the waiting room daily (typically 20 was a busy day) and we are also seeing an influx of kids with Covid, while RSV is ravaging our pediatric floor. I just had a baby in the beginning of July and I don’t even feel safe to leave our house because of Delta-we also haven’t allowed anyone near us without a mask. It’s so isolating and heartbreaking. Our vaccination rate is still below 50% in the state of MO, and although I think the area where I live (closer to the city and typically a more “blue” area for the Midwest) there are higher vax rates, but still people run around the stores unmasked. My friends who are some of the best doctors and nurses I know are getting burnt out, they are tired of the lack of care it seems people have for others as well as the disinformation running rampant. I have been away from bedside nursing now for 2 years and have absolutely no plans of returning because of what we have seen this virus do, and the lack of consideration for our frontline healthcare workers.

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I’m in Melbourne, Australia. We are currently in our 6th hard lockdown and have endured over 200 days accumulative. It’s rough. Our vaccine roll out has been a disaster. It’s hard to keep spirits up, especially now with the Delta variant. Loving seeing your family enjoying summer and looking forward to when that can happen for us here.

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TN has had 16,000 new child cases of CoVid (5-18) in the last week… our Gov has signed every ridiculous order that TX and FL has, but since he doesn’t seem to have the current desire to be President, he does it quietly. NO masks are allowed to be mandated in schools and our district has made it clear they will not be contact tracing or notifying parents of cases in their child’s school. I do not have school aged children, but this behavior impacts the entire community. Gov Lee is all about ‘personal choice’… which I say is fine if it only effects you and your individual child. Schools do not allow peanuts or peanut butter in the cafeteria because a child may be allergic…. But we don’t require masks in the midst of a public health crisis??

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Westchester, NY here. Schools are mandating masks, and the anti-mask crowd has gone pretty silent, given the rapid rise of cases with Delta, and we are back to school 5 days/week and masks can be off when the kids are outside. We are still in very good shape, compared to last year, but it's a real concern. 13yo is vaccinated, waiting for the 8yo. They have no issue with masks, we (and their teachers) have framed masking as the thing we do to help the community stay safe, and what is necessary if they want to go places. 8yo puts it on as he leaves the house, says it's easier to have it on his face than being "lumpy" in his pocket :-). When we go places like Target or Wegmans with the kids, 85% of people are masked and 100% of people with kids are masked. Our local ice cream shop requires masks, and their sign says "Because little kids are our favorite customers, grown-ups must wear a mask to keep them safe." I will be curious to see what our new governor does with statewide requirements when she comes into office tomorrow. Ilana, I am curious to know if you were at all nervous to take your daughter to Savannah, given the huge disparity between where NY and GA are on masking and safety, and if how people treated you, given you were probably masked more than others.

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Northern VA here. We start school tomorrow and I have a 5th and 3rd grader. While our district is mandating masks for all regardless of vaccine status and staff vaccinations or regular tests (which I am totally onboard with), I am worried. It now looks like Pfizer's EUA request for the 5-11 age cohort will be closer to the end of September than the beginning and I feel like that is when in-person school will fall apart (I HOPE I'M WRONG). We've started only eating outside again and masking at all times outside our home (rather than just in indoor spaces). I'm feeling defeated and like this will never end because people have politicized medicine and science. I'm tired. I worry for my family that lives in TX - they are all vaccinated but probably now due for boosters as they all qualified in Jan/Feb. I realize pre-COVID normal will probably never return completely, but man, it didn't have to be like this!!

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I'm a parent and teacher in Texas, and I'm very concerned. My husband and both of my daughters tested positive. The girls are home from school for at least a week. We all wear masks in school and inside buildings, but we are the minority here. It's frustrating because our school district is doing absolutely nothing to help stop the spread. There are over 1500 students in my building, and no possibility of social distancing. Masks are not the norm among students or teachers. Honestly, it's just sad to me that others can't do something so simple to help keep everyone healthy.

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Northern California here! ICU and hospitals are getting full and yes I have heard of some vaccinated people getting sick, but mostly unvaccinated. Almost everyone around me who is not vaccinated around me has gotten sick, and some are young and very ill. It started here around the end of July and has increased. My kids are back in school in masks, but it is much more relaxed than last year. Such as, no masks required at indoor lunch or outside recess. My 5 year old is currently home due to being sick over the weekend and I will not be sending her back to school without a negative test. I feel like it is about to reach the peak of last winter around here again, cases just keep going up. Delta and COVID are very much on everyone’s mind in my area. School was 3 days of bliss but the last 2 weeks have been one COVID notice/scare after another.

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I am very concerned. Cases in my are of PA are rising rapidly. We had a very contentious school board meeting last week where they thankfully decided that masks would be mandatory while we are in the Substantial and High categories of cases. Our daycare/summer camp had to close for a few days last week because of numerous cases. And I’m going to admit I get a little angry when I see people out there living their lives like this is over. It’s not. And until kids can get vaccinated I think we need to reign things in a little.

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We’re in the highest vaccinated state, but infections are now going up here again. Places the vaccinated members of my family had stopped wearing masks like the grocery store for a few weeks at the beginning of the summer we have started wearing them again. I am so, so thankful the school boards are all pro mask and are making accommodations based on data not politics. We have a Republican Governor but he has not sided with any of the extreme members of his party at all and has only followed the science and advice of infectious disease and Public Health experts. I’m acting in some short plays in a few weeks and it was planned for two different locations on different weekends (one outdoors under a big tent, the other in a small theatre) and indoor location just got cancelled. I was both relieved and disappointed.

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I’m in Texas and since the governor has made it where schools can’t require masks or do virtual learning (without paying for it themselves) everyone is acting like COVID is not a real thing. We sent our son masked and he has one other kid in his class who is also masked. We wear masks out in public but are usually the only ones.

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Arizona: Wild effing west out here. It’s so disheartening and extremely concerning. It feels like we are the last family to care about Covid. I have a three year old and twin 15 month olds. My three year old NEEDS social interaction so we put him in preschool 3 days a week. There have already been 5 cases at our preschool (no masks) and we are off to get a Covid test today for exposure. I can’t sleep. It feels like March 2020 again, except this time we have to do things that are uncomfortable as my child’s mental health was beginning to suffer. I had to pick something up curbside at buy buy baby on Saturday, not one person was masked. There is something really wrong with society and I hate that I’m raising my kids in a heartless world. I’m hopeful that the FDA will approve the EUA for kids sooner rather than later as at this point those who want to vaccinate will and those who don’t won’t so why should my child suffer?

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Indianapolis. Our K-8 school is requiring masks for all and asking for voluntary information from families about who has been vaccinated. Almost all staff and 12+ in the school are. This is all that is giving me comfort right now. My family (including an immunocompromised 11 year old) acts the same as we have for 18 months because our city’s vaccination rates are not good. Pockets of our city/state are doing ok and others are doing poorly and quickly getting worse. As all previous research has demonstrated, you can base the current state of things largely on residents’ education levels, demographics, and political viewpoints. We are trying not to live irrationally in fear but to take common sense precautions when we can, so as to live a live that is somewhat normal. Where my mind really is right now… on a related matter… I am really feeling for healthcare staff. They were heroes a year ago but we need a new word for them now, as they work on empty batteries (and often understaffed conditions) to treat people who willfully disregarded their pleas to be vaccinated and avoid hospitalization.

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I live in the SF Bay Area. Our kids have been back in school for a week.

All schools in California require adults to be masked on campus (inside and out) unless they are actively eating or drinking. As of last Wednesday (3rd day of school for my kids), the CA dept of health also requires kids to be masked unless actively eating or drinking - which can only happen outside. It’s going to get dicey when (likely not if) the wildfire smoke drifts to our area again and the air quality is not really healthy enough to be outside, but it’s also a requirement to have kids eat outside.

Our school district is doing many of the same things as when we went back in person in the spring. All doors and windows will be open (as long as the air quality is in safe ranges)for the most part there are no parent volunteers on campus (and the few that are on campus are required to be fully vaccinated and can only be helping outside), kids have to eat at tables with only the other students from their class and spaced out 6ft apart. But this year they are not restricted to only playing with kids from their class at recess.

Additionally, all staff members have to either provide proof of vaccination or take twice weekly Covid tests. The district is also offering free Covid tests for any students or staff that need it daily at one of the 5 middle schools in the district.

We are still being cautious outside of school, but we feel lucky to be in an area where a lot of people are vaccinated and are still willingly following the mask mandate that was reinstated in our county (and surrounding counties) for everyone, vaccinated or not. But we know that breakthrough infections can still happen with delta. We have family friends that were being really cautious, but caught Covid on a trip to see family out of state. The kids (9 and 5) came down with symptoms first, but then both parents (fully vaccinated) also got it from the kids. Thankfully, their cases were not severe and they have no lasting symptoms, but we have seen it is possible to get it even when fully vaccinated.

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I sent you a msg on IG about my vaccinated friend who still got a breakthrough infection, and you asked how she was doing. I’m vaccinated also, and we thought we were protected, and started going places mask free and being less cautious. She still isn’t completely back to normal going on 3 weeks,(still sounds nasally) but is well enough to be back at work. She works at a hospital, and sees first hand the people in the morgue who don’t make it from covid. It’s really no joke the amount of unvaccinated people who are sick. I’m embarrassed to live in FL, and the lack of vaccinated people. I don’t care for the governor either. I’m back to wearing a mask now when going out, and plan on getting the booster also.

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Portland, OR here. Our county has a 67% vaccination rate. My husband, myself and 12 year old are vaccinated, but my younger two aren’t. (Side - my middle is bigger than my older, and while I would never do it because I’m a rule follower and would feel incredibly guilty, it’s so tempting to lie to get him vaccinated.) Our state has an indoor mask mandate, so when our kids go back to school after Labor Day, masks will be required. They’ve also just required teachers to be vaccinated before mid-October if they aren’t already.

I am more nervous for my younger two. But as a previous poster said, I feel like it’s endemic at this point and we have to live with this. We spent most of last year in distance learning and I can’t do that again for a whole other year and if they move us back to that, I will cry. A lot.

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I live in Roswell, Georgia. It's a suburb north of Atlanta where most everyone is masking up in public and many are vaccinated, but the numbers for Georgia as a whole are BAD. My kids have been back in school for two weeks, mandatory masks. My nephews are in the county next door that did not mandate masks. The 5th grader tested positive and ended up in the ER for a few hours last weekend (he has asthma and is fine now). His vaccinate dad tested positive and had mild symptoms. His 5 year old sister tested positive with barely any symptoms. Our governor is only slightly less stupid than Abbott and DeSantis, so we are all on our own. We wear masks everywhere, do not eat indoors and try to avoid large crowds. We are stirring family drama because my husband won't eat indoors with my parents next weekend if my unvaccinated brother and 15yo nephew are there. My brother, a cancer survivor, is wary of western medicine. He had a bad reaction to Keytruda, so I get his concern, but this seems like such a no-brainer to me. He also just likes to be contrary. I think everyone is going to get it at some point, but vaccinated folks will have an easier time with it.

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I live in Nashville Tennessee and am the parent to a 4.5 year old who was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (back in December 2020). Her immune system is still compromised from the treatments she received in the months since so we are continuing to live like we're in a lock down. We only spend time inside in the houses of our immediate family bubble (parents and grandparents) and do a lot of visiting area parks and playgrounds (if they're nearly empty).

We pulled our child out of her preschool last March and she hasn't been back since. We are hoping she'll be able to start preschool again in a few weeks but only because we found a private program that is taking all precautions possible - school staff and all (eligible) family members of the kids are required to be vaccinated. School staff + kids will all be required to wear masks. Daily temperature checks, double sanitizing, air purification in every room and the rooms will act as their own isolated pods - they won't be in the same shared space at the same time. The director's own son is also immunocompromised and started the program as a way for him to have a more "normal" preschool experience during the times of covid.

Tennessee is - a hot mess. Our county to the south (Williamson - where a lot of folks live in the suburbs and work in Nashville) recently made national news because of the violent anti-maskers that showed up to a school board meeting. Our governor is attempting to penalize public schools that enforce mask mandates (though the legality of this is still in question) and Tennesseans across the state are choosing to take medication for farm animals rather than get vaccinated to protect themselves from covid.

It is because of all of this I have zero trust in my neighbors and will not feel comfortable returning to browsing stores inside, eating inside restaurants or having play dates in friends homes until my daughter can get vaccinated, too (if she will be able to, given her compromised immune system).

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founding

This also seems like a good time to do a PSA. You need to get your in-home covid tests purchased before you need them. Local pharmacies are running out in certain areas. other areas still have plenty of stock. Some of my friends are seeing people just take everything off the shelves in one swoop. As kids go back to school and as fall comes, we will start to have regular cold symptoms. I can tell you getting that first cold is scary. Having an at-home test kit available helps you get back your peace of mind. You don't want to have to be scrambling around trying to find a kit or waiting four days (as has sometimes been the case) to get test results. Online orders are taking a few weeks and sometimes the lower cost in-home test kits are not available. So, this is your PSA to please be ready and stocked.

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I live in greater Boston. I feel fortunate to live in a highly vaccinated area, but the comfort vaccines used to give me has gone away. We have two kids under 12, so the reality is that we live with two completely unprotected kiddos and I just feel irresponsible exposing them unmasked to other unvaccinated individuals (including kids). So, we allow outdoor unmasked play, but when we have other kids inside our home, they’re all masked. It sucks, but I am always thinking how I would feel if I was relaxed/casual about it and something bad happened. I’d be so so mad at myself, since honestly my kids don’t care that much about wearing a mask. Also - my husband falls into a group that was just approved for a booster (not 8+ months since vaccine, he has a hematologic malignancy) so he got his booster yesterday! He’s sitting next to me now with his sore arm and vax fatigue but we’re so so happy he’s extra protected!

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Here where I am, El Centro, California, which is located in extreme southeastern part of the state. 45mins from Arizona state line, and 15mins from the border with Mexico. We are a small rural community, about 180,000 people. Sadly we were hit hard by the original strain, but now the uptick in cases, Delta now the dominant strain here, 2 kids died under the age of 13. Which as a parent breaks my heart and scares me to death. Our county just reissued the mask mandate and our county is one of the most vaccinated in the state but I’m terrified. My family is all vaccinated with the exception of myself, I’m unable to go get vaccinated due to my mental health conditions, and my 6yr old who is too young. I had Covid last year but after that became much more anxious, to the point where my therapist now says I have PTSD from it. Last month 2 of my older kids had Covid, in what is considered they “breakthrough” cases. They did pretty well other than mild sore throats, and some loss of smell and taste. Sadly, it feels like we are going backwards and it is horrible seeing the anti-vax people and the anti-mask people doing the most to make things worse. I’m not sure what more we can do but go back to masking everywhere, and not socializing as much. It seems never ending.

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My 8yr old daughter has no problem wearing her mask at school last year or to camp all summer. Even when it's hot out she has never complained. She can breathe and speak just fine so I don't know why people are making such a fuss over wearing a mask especially when it's protecting kids who can't get vax yet.

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This is interesting to hear. I live in Australia and we have just gone into super strict lockdown and are averaging 50 cases a day in Victoria. We are trying to suppress numbers until vaccination goes up. Our federal government made a mess of the vaccine rollout, so it is slow going. I am vaccinated, but hearing stories about the Delta variant is making me nervous again. I am worried about our kids…a large percentage of cases here are in children. Seeing so much of the world open up and living relatively normal lives with high case numbers is making me wonder how we will move forward in Australia. I am super grateful for living here where we have been able to keep on top of it in the past. Anyway, back to homeschooling for the 7th lockdown!! 😕

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We live in Kansas and everyone basically forgot about Covid or the Delta Variant. It’s terrifying. My 2 boys, 4 & 6 years old, started school and the school is not requiring masks. They are still wearing theirs because I can’t trust that everyone’s parents are being safe and not going to spread it to my kids. I’m fully vaccinated and I still wear mine everyone indoors. It’s so scary and none of us have any control over this at all.

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I’m in the western suburbs of chicago. On the heals of two sets of family friends getting covid (kids and vaccinated parents) and then just coming out of quarantine, my parents (both vaccinated) ended up positive along with my kids (9 and 6). My parents are super diligent about masking so are unsure where they got it. My kids were having a few days of fun with them before school started and wee exposed during those days unbeknownst to my parents. My dad just got the IV antibody treatment today and is already feeling better. My kids are doing okay so far with very mild symptoms. The biggest bummer is that they missed the first day of school today and the rest of the week. The mask debate is HOT out here. My kids go private school and many parents were raging about the mask mandate. I’m all for it! My husband and I both work in healthcare and need these kids in school.

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Melbourne Australia.

We’re in our 6th lockdown (known as Lockdown 6.0) of the pandemic. 4 of those have been this year. We’re back to 5 reasons to leave home (groceries, medical treatment, work if you are essential, vaccine and care for others), a 5km exercise radius for 2 hours per day, school from home, mask mandate everywhere (indoor and outdoor).

Delta is the variant in the community. At least half the cases are in children under 10. It’s spreading much faster (eg. Someone who is in contact with someone with Delta could test positive as little as 2 days later) and lots of people are asymptomatic while infectious.

Our vaccine rollout is a disaster. There isn’t enough vaccine for everyone yet so Pfizer is limited to adults above 40. They’re opening it for 18-39 at the end of the month. We do have Astra Zenica, but they told everyone that the risk of blood clots in under 60a was higher and didn’t recommend it for under 60s, but since our prime minister put all his eggs in one basket originally and ordered basically all AZ that’s mostly what we had… then they flipped and said anyone over 18 could take the AZ if they have a doctor consent and knew the risk…

Still no vaccine for kids, obviously. Some people are demanding schools reopen, because they fear for their children’s mental health… however obviously the risk there is Delta ripping through schools (which is happening currently). Also our government spent the last 18 months spouting “schools are safe” and “children don’t suffer from covid” so are now having to backflip.

I’m scared to leave my house. There are outbreaks in every part of the city. I only do online grocery shopping and go to a drive-thru collection to pick it up once a week. I double mask for any essential medical appointments I go to.

Also, Sydney is way worse than Melbourne currently (850 cases a day vs 70) and so our state has locked their state out. My mum, sister and nieces live there (in the outback, not in the city) and I haven’t seen them since April and will be luck if I get to see them for Christmas.

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Austin, Tx here. While vaccinations rates in my immediate community are high, we are still in Tx where mask mandates are banned 👎🏻. We made the decision early to take the virtual school option for our kids as they are too young to be vaccinated yet. We are lucky to have that option because the schools aren’t getting funding for virtual but our district found some way to do it. Most of Austin school districts are now requiring masks despite the governors order - I’m glad as I fully support masks and vaccines. But I’m very sad (yet grateful) that my kids are stuck at home. Again.

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Our schools opened Aug 2 and have already closed for a week due to cases and quarantined. No masks required here unfortunately. Most of my family is vaccinated (there is a segment who refuses) and my granddaughter wears her mask. I am frustrated because it looks like schools will continue to shut down since no one wants to wear a mask. I'm in southern Indiana in a rural area.

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I am a high school teacher just outside of Philadelphia. Our schools mandated masks for grades K-6 but have only strongly recommended for grades 7-12. I have two young kids at home who cannot be vaccinated yet and I am pretty nervous. I’m vaccinated and will mask but am dreading the day I bring this home to my kids because of the lack of masks in my school.

I am glad your kids will be safer with vaccinated teachers and masks. I hope they have a great school year!

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We’re in Montgomery, AL. Schools started lasted week, masked. This morning I had a call from the school that my 8 year old has a sore throat. Our pediatrician’s office had 500 calls for sick visits this morning alone—we haven’t even gotten called back from the nurse yet. The urgent cares aren’t taking patients because they’re too slammed. It’s truly terrifying to think that my kid can’t get in to see a doctor (I think he’s fine, but still).

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