Yes, that is what it says. Of course, with those symptoms you are not supposed to send your kids to school but we ignore small details like that in MA….
1 Like
Is there maybe a non-Covid protocol it falls under though? We have the below standing protocols from pre-pandemic so maybe they’re just missing a footnote?
There are general rules for when to keep your children home. These rules are routinely ignored. There is absolutely no reason for that flow chart to include those symptoms in that way.
Edited to add: that flow chart also only seems to apply to classrooms.
2 Likes
@Pod NPR has an article on FB about Dr. Trevor Bradford being recognized for contributions during the covid pandemic.
Maybe somebody (@amvanhoose_701479 ? tia) will post some links.
1 Like
I’ve gotta admit, the line in Come From Away “And the Lion’s Club is looking for toilet paper if you’ve got any to spare” hit completely different last night than pre-pandemic.
4 Likes
We just had this happen and I followed school policy as written because otherwise too many pros/cons to navigate.
Our policy is if any one symptom on covid screening list (published by school) different than baseline for a person’s allergies etc, negative PCR required to return. No timeline given.
After I had what I needed for school I followed docs advice re what to do for family health.
The doc and school advice, I found last year, do not always line up. Their priorities do not align perfectly.
In our city extracurriculars have looser rules so people often use the OTC tests for those or until they can get a more official test.
Your regional norms may vary 
2 Likes
4 Likes
Excellent.
As usual.
1 Like
I’m not sure how to link back to what I was saying earlier after all the replies re my DS14 with a sore throat. I ended up calling the nurse help line and they said at home test isn’t good enough for the school. I don’t know if that’s true but I found a pcr test for today at cvs and we did that. Hoping for a result before he has to miss Mon school. I don’t know if my other kids at a different school with no symptoms have to miss. You’d think this would be in all the many pages of covid school info but, no.
2 Likes
So, I decided to peek at the actual FDA announcement of the kid vax meeting to see if there was anything else interesting in there, and there was!
VRBPAC Meeting on Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
On Oct. 14 and 15, the advisory committee will meet to discuss the use of booster doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine. Both vaccines are currently authorized for emergency use to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. The committee will also hear presentations and discuss the available data on the use of a booster of a different vaccine than the one used for the primary series of an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine (heterologous or “mix and match” booster).
4 Likes
Got my booster this morning. Walgreens didn’t make me wait 15 min. Arm is a little sore and I’m already developing a lump in my armpit like i did after my second shot.
5 Likes
At this point, it’s so hard to sort out what they want you to do vs what the procedures say vs what really is the best thing to do.
Personally, I’d use the at home test while you’re waiting for the PCR results so you have an idea about the other kids.
2 Likes
At this point in the game - also with kids at a school where most people have decided that covid is over - I’m only keeping home a kid with any symptom that might be construed at covid and not the rest of the kids.
If a single of my kids had exposure (and not just symptoms), I’d keep them all home from school, with a PCR test for the exposed kiddo on day 5.
It’s such a hot mess right now here with kids getting sick with all of the usual things kids get sick with, not to mention allergies. I also feel like half of the people on campus had covid over the summer. I’m sure this is not true exactly, but I’m feeling like my vaccine plus makes me feel ok standing in a room with 3 people who had covid in the last three months.
Although I will say I do know someone who had covid last winter, was vaccinated, and picked up a second round with delta this fall. Second round was milder, anyway.
4 Likes
It is amazing, one year in, what is not spelled out in the school handbook. We had exactly this question a week ago and it was not spelled out in ours either! (Confusing answer: Sure, he can come. But also, when you sign your screening thing at sign-in you attest that no one in your house has covid symptoms, which his sister did. So … clear as mud.) Good luck! Hope you get a quick negative
3 Likes
At DM’s new 55+ apartment complex, I have to fill out a Covid screening questionnaire if I enter through the lobby.
One of the questions is something like…
“Have you visited an area with high community transmission of Covid in the last 14 days?”
Yes. The neighborhood around this apartment complex. And my neighborhood. And the rest of the state. And pretty much the whole country. 
I just mark “no”. I mean, “high” compared to what? Because it’s obviously a nonsense question at this point. I’m sure it’s the questionnaire they developed when this started.
8 Likes
Well both adults in our house have our boosters now. Side effects were nearly identical if not a bit worse than the 2nd. Looking like maybe we will get a single shot into older child prior to our trip(10/30) but not the younger one. Going to need to be in line on the day after FDA signs to get it I think.
Meanwhile we just spent a whole week passing around RSV, sore throats, cough, runny noses. PCR tested confirmed neg covid / pos RSV and out of school because of it, but hoping next week we are all better.
If the number of kids who all got RSV in rapid succession is any indication(1/2-3/4 of our class), we are in a very precarious position regarding covid because it will spread like wildfire like this RSV did once sufficient cases cause an outbreak in the kids. They really can’t approve the vaccine soon enough.
4 Likes
Lump has gone over night, never got as big as first one 6 months ago. That one hung around 5 days
6 Likes
I realize it’s almost inevitable but now my brother is a close contact to a positive case! This is the 2nd in the same family exposed at school! We are all masking indoors and outdoors to protect my nephew, SIL and my Dad but it’s a bit unnerving each time. With 5 people in person at school it’s going to keep happening. 
4 Likes
I was in a meeting on Tuesday with someone that tested positive that day (PCR test came back the next morning). We had masks on and since we were vaccinated and 3 ft away, we are not close contacts. I have already tested negative once and will take another PCR test tomorrow. Test and stay does not apply to non classroom exposure.
5 Likes
Yesterday in Nova Scotia we got to another important milestone - 75% of entire population now vaccinated. Entered our “Phase 5” with no restrictions on physical distancing, group size, etc Masks are still required for all indoor spaces.
Children in Pre-Primary to Grade 6 in Nova Scotia’s public school system will receive free COVID-19 rapid testing kits. The pilot program will see schools distribute thousands of rapid test kits in an effort to make testing more accessible to families and support early detection
Currently, there are 240 known active cases in the province. Eleven people are in hospital with the disease, four of whom are in ICU. (NS population is just under 1 million)
9 Likes