Distance learning must continue

Zachary Khouri

Hear me out: We should have distance learning for the rest of the year.

I can already attune to the anxious parents, the bitter seniors, and the concerned staff wondering, “What about prom? What about graduation?”

And to that, I respond: “What about COVID-19?”

I know what you’re thinking; it is not very often that you meet a senior who doesn’t want to return to school next semester. If you had asked me my opinion in March, I would have told you that I expected to return by the fall semester at the latest.

You may have even read an article or two that reassured you and said that a vaccine would arrive by the end of the year. However, simply because scientists have produced one, it does not mean that they can immediately distribute it to the general public.

According to the BBC, experts estimate that it will take until mid-2020 before the vaccine becomes widely available.

Although you may argue that COVID-19 will barely impact the youth, I urge you to think beyond the scope of your individual life and towards the greater good.

The CDC is still actively working on understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19. This virus isn’t like the flu, where, even though the symptoms change from year-to-year, we have a general understanding that it will not affect us for the rest of our lives.

COVID-19 is different.

Not enough time has passed since the pandemic first began to pinpoint its long-term impact accurately.

The Mayo Clinic states that, as of now, “symptoms can sometimes persist for months. The virus can damage the lungs, heart, and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems.”

And yes, before you ask, young and healthy people have just as much to fear regarding the virus.

Hypothetically, let’s say you contract it now, but you don’t experience any symptoms. You would assume that you have nothing to worry about because, after all, nothing seems to be wrong.

According to physician Dr. Eric Topol, a sample of asymptomatic patients revealed that over half showed distinct lung abnormalities. In other words, simply because you do not die, that does not mean that there aren’t risks to COVID-19.

Additionally, this disease is not a one-week-and-you’re-done scenario. Ed Yong of The Atlantic describes many COVID-19 patients who were previously healthy as “long-haulers,” experiencing an array of symptoms, ranging from hallucinations to fevers, for months on end.

Perhaps after learning all of this information, you will still decide to attend in-person learning next semester if the opportunity presents itself.

Congratulations — but you may have to miss out on prom, graduation, and weeks of classes because of fatigue that keeps you in your bed. Even worse, for the Advanced Placement students out there, you could end up failing all of your finals because of shortterm memory loss and an erratic heartbeat that heightens your anxiety.

Lastly, P.E. students and athletes might find the shortness of breath and easy bruising to be a bit of an issue.

And who knows? Suppose you go back and push yourself despite the symptoms. In that case, there’s still a chance that you’ll discover five years from now that you are suffering from issues the scientific community had not anticipated during the early days of the pandemic.

Again, I beg you, if you are one of the students holding out for next semester, consider the world outside of your home.

We must stand up for the more marginalized people in our community who are most susceptible to suffering from COVID-19.

The New York Times reports that Black people and Latinos have been disproportionately affected by the virus across all age groups, whether rural or urban. Ultimately, they are two times more likely than their white counterparts to die due to the disease.

Since 27.8% of San Mateo County residents identify as Black or Latino, it is the entire community’s responsibility to ensure that all of us are as safe as possible, which means not returning to school next semester.

Do you still have doubts?

The world doesn’t work like a fairytale. COVID-19 is not going to magically disappear the second the clock strikes twelve on New Years’, and I guarantee you that it will be a problem for months, if not years, to come.

To stay healthy means to stay at home.

However, try not to complain: we have more technology than ever to sustain our friendships, learning, and lives from our houses. The gravity of the situation won’t be going away any time soon, so let’s get through this together.