NASAg03 said:

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From David L Katz, public Health MD from Yale/:



His interview yesterday is long but worth a listen. And the questions are very educated, challenging, and informed. Also minimal politics involved.

He's pretty adamant that closing colleges and significantly disrupting social circles caused more initial harm than minor changes would have, as kids left their jobs / college classes and social circles of like people, and brought various contagions home to those with older and with medical problems.



https://davidkatzmd.com/coronavirus-information-and-resources/

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great post. the sort of rational voice absent in almost all dialogue - i wonder how he's coping with the 'you don't care about grandma' mob.

PJYoung said:

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I understand the argument 100% but then I see that group of 70 University of Texas students that went to Cabo and 42 of them came back with the virus. If school was in session our college campuses would've become breeding grounds for the virus shortly after spring break, causing those cities to become covid-19 hot spots.

If we could somehow quarantine all college students on their respective campuses then I would agree with him but unfortunately we are all very connected in ways most of us don't even understand.

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i want to hope (maybe naive) that at this point in the collective experience with this disaster, students would not go to Cabo or take a mass trip like that.

the same 'enforcement' in place on social distancing today (there's no armed enforcement of today's restrictions, Michigan notwithstanding) would reduce or eliminate likelihood of college kids doing something so dumb in the near future.

i want to believe that's true.

But by extending spring break and then closing colleges, these same kids brought viruses home to parents and extended family PRIOR to more aggressive measures, while many people were still asymptomatic. They had no where to go, and as such, dispersed the contagion more quickly vs staying on campus.

Because we know young healthy people are less susceptible, it would have been better (less harm) having them stay in place on college campuses, in their natural social setting, naturally insulated with limited contact with older generations with health issues. It also would have more quickly built herd immunity within a local pocket of healthy kids.

He also has really interesting theories and discussions on ways to build herd immunity. Nothing he is promoting, just open discussions that should be happening (and hopefully is) on a state and federal administration level.

Those are the same idiots that would do it now, with or without schools. The vast majority still understand what's going on.

NASAg03 said:

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Because we know young healthy people are less susceptible, it would have been better (less harm) having them stay in place on college campuses, in their natural social setting, naturally insulated with limited contact with older generations with health issues. It also would have more quickly built herd immunity within a local pocket of healthy kids.

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If the goal is building a large group of people who have had it and are hopefully then immune, then I guess I would agree. But I think herd immunity is needed in all social circles, so as you say if the college students have limited contact with older generations then the herd immunity is only built in that low risk social group and doesn't have much benefit to the others. If the goal is limiting spread then obviously they would have less contact with all generations if they are in their own home or family home vs on a large college campus where there are janitorial, maintenance, food service, and educators employed - who then leave their jobs and go home.

I do think it's a good discussion and different viewpoints can be argued. Just some of my thoughts on the one paragraph.

I do wish my 8th grade and younger kids could go back to school since as you say, they personally do not have any health concerns and this doesn't seem to impact youth much. But I'd feel bad forcing some of their older teachers and support staff into the petri dish that is a public school - and surely some of those employees are at risk due to age or obesity or what have you.