Read on Twitter
on kids at this point in the pandemic:(Caveat: I rarely encounter someone who is doing OK these days)
I am worried more than ever for kids.
In-between the ICU death tolls are alarm bells from pediatric/community providers, teachers, parents.
Kids do not seem to be OK
1/ https://twitter.com/calphonso/status/1389537541859299329
Kids have been on the #CoronaCoaster for as long as adults.
They have faced extended restrictions, disrupted access to clinical and social services, education instability, physical/sexual abuse and neglect, grief and guilt related to lost/sick/isolated family.
2/
They have faced extended restrictions, disrupted access to clinical and social services, education instability, physical/sexual abuse and neglect, grief and guilt related to lost/sick/isolated family.
2/
Some are shutting down (quiet, screens off, not checking into class).
Some are expressing their distress in words, drawings + actions: restricted food intake, self-harm, selective mutism, cyberbullying, unmasked gatherings, suicidal ideation/attempts
https://twitter.com/NishaOttawa/status/1353080261211279360?s=20
3/
Some are expressing their distress in words, drawings + actions: restricted food intake, self-harm, selective mutism, cyberbullying, unmasked gatherings, suicidal ideation/attempts
https://twitter.com/NishaOttawa/status/1353080261211279360?s=20
3/
Now may not be the time for change, esp in communities facing the most disruptive phase of this pandemic.
In-person learning may have to take a back seat to crushing local curves, caring for self and family, and coping with work-related expectations
4/
In-person learning may have to take a back seat to crushing local curves, caring for self and family, and coping with work-related expectations
4/
But here's what’s clear: OUR RECOVERY PLAN HAS TO PRIORITIZE KIDS AND YOUTH.
We’ve relied on their resilience to get through this year despite less than perfect parenting.
(Mine continue to forgive my absences/mental lapses, but they’re tapped out too)
5/
We’ve relied on their resilience to get through this year despite less than perfect parenting.
(Mine continue to forgive my absences/mental lapses, but they’re tapped out too)
5/
Now, kids’ mental health is not my area of expertise.
As a peds ID physician, I follow kids with COVID, MIS-C, #longCOVID. I've shared IPAC insights with hospital programs, PH, schools and even LTCs.
And I love to talk about (new/future) vaccines with families. Seriously
6/
As a peds ID physician, I follow kids with COVID, MIS-C, #longCOVID. I've shared IPAC insights with hospital programs, PH, schools and even LTCs.
And I love to talk about (new/future) vaccines with families. Seriously
6/
But what I hear: rising MH issues in kids, not enough capacity in community/hospitals*
*data forthcoming for skeptics/decision-makers
And there’s no cookie-cutter biomedical approach that universally addresses needs of youth in indigenous, racialized, rural/urban communities.
7/
*data forthcoming for skeptics/decision-makers
And there’s no cookie-cutter biomedical approach that universally addresses needs of youth in indigenous, racialized, rural/urban communities.
7/
When/how will their needs be prioritized?
They've faced relentless scrutiny around school: symptoms, screening and testing compliance, and confusion about isolation guidance (siblings go to school? Is school “essential”?)
They've borne all this to protect adults around them
8/
They've faced relentless scrutiny around school: symptoms, screening and testing compliance, and confusion about isolation guidance (siblings go to school? Is school “essential”?)
They've borne all this to protect adults around them
8/
I supported calls for rigorous testing so we could evaluate school safety measures, and expected advocacy for this in other workplaces
Crickets
[I'm not aware of a “no mask, no talk” policy in workplaces as seen in schools, despite numerous outbreaks linked to break rooms]
9/
Crickets
[I'm not aware of a “no mask, no talk” policy in workplaces as seen in schools, despite numerous outbreaks linked to break rooms]
9/
Now may not be the time for change. Many of us are facing the darkest point of this pandemic with intense vulnerability.
In-person learning will have to take a back seat to crushing the local curves, caring for self and coping with illness, grief and work expectations.
10/
In-person learning will have to take a back seat to crushing the local curves, caring for self and coping with illness, grief and work expectations.
10/
In our horizon: vaccines for all adults, and Pfizer for kids 12+
We'll need vaccine access + culturally-sensitive comms to support providers, parents, youth
We'll have to discuss:
- benefits in
morbidity, mortality, transmission with/without sx
- potential safety signals
11/
We'll need vaccine access + culturally-sensitive comms to support providers, parents, youth
We'll have to discuss:
- benefits in
morbidity, mortality, transmission with/without sx- potential safety signals
11/
The road to a new normal starts with breaking chains of transmission + vaccination. We are finally here, at great personal/societal cost.
Kids have taken extraordinary actions to keep adults safe.
It's our turn to rebuild their resilience and help recover their losses
12/
Kids have taken extraordinary actions to keep adults safe.
It's our turn to rebuild their resilience and help recover their losses
12/
