EDUCATION

EDUCATION Parents deserve more info about COVID-19 cases I t was bad enough to send teachers, education assistants, and students back into stuffy, mask-optional, crowded classrooms, where it’s imposby Patti Bacchus a child in your class came to school with COVID-19, your health authority may decide you don’t need to know about it. Because telling you there was someone in sible to physically distance, in the middle your class with the virus might violate the of a pandemic. unnamed employee or student’s privacy

The provincial health officer, Dr. Bon- rights, or some kind of nonsense. nie Henry, defends the controversial You’ll get a notice if someone in your COVID-19 school plan, saying schools kid’s class has head lice or pinworms, so are controlled environments. She says why is it different when it’s a potentially that “layers of protection” will keep deadly virus? It’s boggles the mind. the deadly virus from transmitting in If we—or our kids—are going to spend poorly ventilated classrooms filled with hours a day in classrooms with people who maskless small people, and that if some- aren’t wearing masks, we need to know if one brings the virus in to class, it will any of them has COVID-19, and we need be quickly identified and rapid contact to know it as soon as possible. I don’t care if tracing will occur. that person was sitting 10 feet away; I want

Teachers and education assistants with to know if I spent hours in a room with risk factors like diabetes or other condi- someone with COVID-19 or if my kid did. tions were told they had to come into work I don’t think that’s too much to expect. anyway. Objectors were accused of fear- I started hearing about positive cases mongering or dismissed as hysterical. in teachers in the first week of school,

A month after kids went back to class, but those were never made public. Then there have been dozens of school exposures we heard about more cases when the kids but, apparently, no clusters or outbreaks. Health authorities, or your school prinwere back in the second week, and letters from principals to parents about exposures Georgia Straight K-12 education columnist Patti Bacchus believes that Vancouver Coastal Health can do a better job of notifying parents about COVID-19 in schools. Photo by Jason Sung/Unsplash. cipal, may not tell you if a student or staff started circulating online and landing in thing or two about communications. The kids tested if they weren’t showing sympperson in your child’s class came to school my inboxes. first rule during a crisis is to provide accur- toms, but one mom went ahead and had with COVID-19. If you’re a teacher and I’m no epidemiologist, but I do know a ate, honest, and timely information. That her child tested anyway, and the test came prevents the wrong information from get- back positive. Three other asymptomatic ting shared and builds public trust. cases later tested positive. By the third week of September, I was Good grief. What’s it going to take? Yet

UBC Doctor of Education (EdD) program in regularly getting copies of letters regarding exposures in several schools in the Henry insisted it wasn’t an outbreak, be cause kids were self-isolating at home. -

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY Vancouver Coastal Health region that weren’t listed publicly. Around that time, Earlier this month, frustrated parents started circulating an open letter to Henry VCH’s deputy chief medical health of- and Dr. Patricia Daly, the VCH’s chief med• Designed for practicing educational leaders • Students admitted in groups of 10-12, and proceed through the program as a cohort • Required coursework offered in formats that Groups of 10-12 students ficer, Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, was quoted in the media saying they wouldn’t post all school COVID-19 exposures because doing so could lead to “stigma” and “unnecessary worry”. ical health officer. The letter says parents are “rapidly losing faith in the cohort system” and opting to keep their kids home, with little to no educational support. The letter asks for prompt disclosure of accommodates the continuing professional responsibilities of students • Each cohort normally attends classes on campus for 2 Summer Sessions (July to mid-August), and 2 Summer Sessions That didn’t go over well with West Vancouver parents, where principals at three secondary schools—Sentinel, West Vancouver secondary, and Collingwood private school—had already sent parents letschool exposures and isolation of full cohorts instead of waiting for contact tracers to determine close contacts for isolations. They also want school-aged siblings included in the isolation strategy. 2 Winter Sessions (September to early April). ters about school exposures. Henry was adamant in media briefRequired classes in Winter Session normally 2 Winter You know what happens when you don’t ings earlier this months that parents are meet 4 times each term on Friday evenings and Saturdays Sessions: 4 weekends each give people the information they need or want? They create a Facebook group that becomes the de facto information source when official sources fail to do their jobs. getting all the information they need. Yet I’m still finding out about COVID-19 exposures more quickly via social media and parents forwarding me notification That’s risky, because inaccurate crowd- letters (keep them coming) than I can

APPLY BY sourced information can easily be spread, but I don’t blame parents for creating such find on health-authority websites, and so can parents.

NOV 15, 2020 groups. I blame VCH for failing to share accurate, timely information. In West Vancouver, parents got minIf Henry expects parents to trust schools with their children—and, by extension, with their families’ health—she needs to imal information regarding an exposure make sure parents and school staff are getat Caulfield elementary but shared more ting as much information as possible, and garnet.grosjean@ubc.ca information among themselves. They discovered that more than half a class tested as quickly as possible, and knock it off with the “we know best about what you need to edst.educ.ubc.ca/future/edd positive for COVID, in addition to some know and/or don’t know” approach. Parsiblings, parents, and grandparents. Parents were advised they didn’t need to have ents can handle the truth, and they deserve the truth. g

HEALTH Twindemic raises stakes for British Columbians N ormally when there’s a B.C. election campaign underway, Adrian Dix spends tons of time knocking on doors. But this is by Charlie Smith “We can’t have huge lineups or big groups of people getting vaccinated at the same time,” Sangha said. Secondly, London Drugs must ensure not a normal time. And Dix, the health that there’s sufficient personal protective minister, has type 1 diabetes, which makes equipment—including masks, shields, him far more susceptible to complications gowns, and gloves—for the staff who adshould he contract COVID-19. minister vaccinations.

“I am in…a high-vulnerability group, “Then the other factor is once that payou know, with a chronic disease,” Dix, 56, tient leaves, we have to clean down the recently told the Straight by phone. “I used room, disinfect it,” he added. to be younger as well.” In September, the Lancet reported that

As a result, he’s doing almost all of his physical distancing and hygiene protocols campaigning by telephone as he seeks reelec- are stemming the spread of COVID-19. tion in Vancouver-Kingsway. But he’s also However, other factors, including altered paying close attention to another matter of infection-testing priorities and the behavgreat concern: the overlapping of the coming iour of the public during the pandemic, flu season with the COVID-19 pandemic. “We put together a plan months ago to try and deal with the situation, but it is a Health Minister Adrian Dix says flu season will intensify in November and December, while the province is still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Don Craig/Government of B.C. also need to be considered. “We need to bear in mind that the measures we’re putting in place to conmammoth challenge,” Dix conceded. “It’s the number of parents who planned to give company is obtaining consent forms and trol COVID-19 may have some benefits a pandemic around the world, and I think the influenza vaccine to their children this conducting online prescreening. When he for the flu as well, but with the resurgence the biggest mistake one can make in these year,” Goldman said. “We found that it’s cor- was reached on October 9, vaccines had of COVID-19 there may also be a double things is to be in any way smug about our related to their concern about COVID-19.” just arrived in some stores in Vancouver, epidemic of flu and COVID-19 during the previous successes.” At the same time, Goldman remains the Okanagan, and on Vancouver Island. [northern hemisphere] winter,” WHO offi -

According to Dix, the number of res- concerned about the B.C. health-care sys- But for pharmacists, it’s also more com- cial Richard Pebody told the medical journal. piratory illnesses in B.C. could climb tem’s capacity to deal with the seasonal flu plicated than in past years because people “All that we can do about it is to be ready and sharply as soon as next month, putting additional pressure on hospitals already and COVID-19 simultaneously. He pointed out that it will be “really receiving immunizations need to maintain physical distance from other customers. prepared with a range of measures we’ve got in our community ammunition box.” g treating people with the novel coronavirus. hard” for some people to differentiate

“There are things we know and there are whether they have the flu or COVID-19 things we don’t know,” Dix said. “We’ve never because they share similar symptoms. One had a November with COVID-19. We’ve difference is that the flu tends to come on never had a December with COVID-19.” very quickly, whereas there’s a more grad-

He described the confluence of seasonal ual onset of symptoms with COVID-19. flu and COVID-19 as a “known unknown”. Any confusion that may exist over selfIn addition, there are other considerations, including more time spent inside buildings diagnoses is another reason why he’s an ardent proponent of flu vaccinations and Join the City’s Short-term at this time of the year rather than outside, in the fresh air. “There’s a reason why, when you have maintaining public-health measures to contain COVID-19. “We can’t trust luck,” the UBC professor Rentals Community more indoor activities, influenza spreads,” Dix said. cautioned. “We have to be active to make sure we don’t see an uptick in influenza ill- Working Group

At the same time, there is encouraging nesses nowadays, as well as COVID.” news from Australia, which has already en- Like Goldman, Dix is optimistic that As part of our ongoing efforts to monitor the effectiveness and dured a winter with COVID-19 and the flu. physical distancing and more frequent impact of our short-term rental regulations, we are seeking a broad Dr. Ran Goldman, a professor in the UBC faculty of medicine’s department of pediathandwashing will curtail the number of seasonal flu cases. But to improve the odds, variety of voices to join a volunteer short-term rentals community rics, told the Straight by phone that the recent the provincial government approved hir- working group to help provide insights on community impacts and flu season Down Under was relatively mild. ing 608 more contact tracers in the sum- input to evolve our short-term rental program.

One reason is that Aussies were washing mer, essentially doubling their numbers. their hands more frequently this year and “That will be key as we deal with the Members will be selected on the basis of their interest, relationship wearing masks in public. Goldman also pressures of November and December and to short-term rentals, and demographics to ensure noted that physical distancing, which has become de rigeur in the COVID era, helps reduce transmission of the seasonal flu. January on COVID-19,” Dix said. “I think that’s something the other jurisdictions in Canada are wishing they had done.” a diverse and balanced set of viewpoints between operators and non-operators. “So, in general, it looks like there’s a good potential that influenza isn’t going to be as In addition, the province placed orders for two million seasonal flu vaccines in Applications accepted online until severe as in other years,” Goldman said. April and May, up from the norm of 1.4 midnight on Saturday, October 31, 2020.

In addition, people can be immunized million. When asked if these vaccines will against the seasonal flu, which isn’t the reach the public in time for seasonal flu FOR MORE INFORMATION: case for COVID-19. He described flu vac- season, Dix replied: “I think so.” shapeyourcity.ca/str-working-group cines as “safe and effective”. The B.C. pharmacy operations manager

“In our research in 17 emergency depart- for London Drugs, Shawn Sangha, told the ments in six countries—led by UBC—we Straight by phone that he’s already seen Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1 found that there’s a significant increase in very high demand for the flu vaccine as the