Oklahoma health experts share 5 things to know about back-to-school in a COVID surge
Health and education leaders are concerned about the next school year. In just a few days, children will be back in the classroom — most of them too young to be vaccinated.
Oklahoma has done back-to-school in a pandemic before, but the stakes are different this year, doctors said. Now, the highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant is surging through Oklahoma and the U.S. And unlike last year, Oklahoma school districts are forbidden by a newly passed state law from requiring that students wear masks.
Dr. Donna Tyungu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, and Dr. Mary Clarke, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, joined Jason Brown of Oklahoma City Public Schools and Matt Holder of Sulphur Public Schools for a panel discussion Thursday with The Oklahoman.
More:COVID & Classrooms replay: Watch health, education experts answer your back-to-school questions
The panelists discussed their concerns and challenges heading into a new school year, which begins Monday in Oklahoma City and Wednesday in Sulphur. Here are five takeaways from the conversation:
1. We’re facing ‘a completely different virus’
We’re up against a different kind of COVID-19 this year, Tyungu said.
“I don't even really like calling it COVID-19 anymore, I call it COVID-21, because we're talking about a completely different virus now,” she said.
Most schools did a good job of preventing transmission of COVID-19 in classrooms last year, Tyungu said.
“If we're doing all of that mitigation last year — or even partial mitigation last year — in some schools that didn't require masks, it's not as big of a deal when you have a virus that doesn't really infect children and caused severe infection, the way we do now,” she said.
COVID-19 has always been a risk to children on some level, Tyungu said, but with the delta variant, some previously healthy kids are being more severely affected.
“It’s a different situation this year,” she said.
More:'I feel like I’m sending my kids into the lion's den.' Back-to-school worries grow amid COVID surge
2. Universal masking is ‘the only good strategy’
Another difference between this year and last year: schools, at least for now, don’t have the option to mandate masks for students under a new state law. Schools may only do so when under a state of emergency, and the governor has said he’s not planning to declare one.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have called for universal masking in schools, regardless of vaccination status.
So why is masking in schools important, especially now?
The delta variant, which is spreading fast in Oklahoma and across the country, is much more transmissible than the wild-type (or original) virus or previous variants that have circulated. And vaccines provide the best protection against the virus, but children under 12 can’t be vaccinated yet.
“There are, in some studies, up to 40% of people [who] have no symptoms whatsoever. So there's no way to really know who's infected,” Clarke said. “The only good strategy … is to make sure that everyone around us is going to be masked up, whether we're vaccinated or not.”
Masks can stop the spread of the virus, but they also provide protection for the wearer. One viewer asked the doctors: Does a mask do any good if their kid is the only one wearing them?
“Yes,” Tyungu said. “Because the level of virus that a person [inhales] when wearing a mask is less than the level of virus that you will inhale without a mask. … If it was my child in school, and no one else was wearing a mask, he would have it on.”
3. State law ‘handcuffs’ schools from key health strategy
Senate Bill 658 took effect July 1, banning mask mandates in public schools unless the governor declares a state of emergency for a district’s area.
The new law takes decision-making authority on masks away from those closest to the issue, Brown said.
Oklahoma City schools required masks last year without pushback from students and staff, he said. Now, the district can only encourage mask wearing, though thousands of its students are still not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
“As we've heard from the health professionals, we know that's one of the primary ways that we can help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Brown said. “So, it truly handcuffs us in our ability to make local decisions on what's best for our kids in our district.”
Sulphur schools didn’t require masks last year. Holder said that puts the focus on other mitigation strategies, such as quarantining, social distancing and sanitizing.
“Those are the things that we can control, and that's what we're going to really focus on,” he said.
More:Keeping kids healthy in another Oklahoma COVID-19 surge: what parents and schools can do
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4. Schools are still recovering from academically disruptive year
The way the school year played out in Sulphur and Oklahoma City was vastly different, but academic recovery is a top priority in both districts.
All public schools in the state closed and switched to remote learning for the final two months of the 2019-20 school year. Oklahoma City students mostly remained in virtual learning until early 2021.
Even Sulphur schools, where students spent all but one week of the 2020-21 year in classrooms full time, are hiring extra staff to make up ground.
“We also recognize that there were attendance issues due to quarantines (and) students being sick,” Holder said. “It caused disruptions throughout the year.”
The southeastern Oklahoma district hired reading specialists for the early elementary level. It offered professional development to teachers throughout the summer to prepare them for the learning gaps they could see when the school year begins.
Reading intervention is a priority in Oklahoma City schools, too, especially for third and fourth graders, Brown said. That’s a critical juncture where reading fluency begins to dictate future academic success.
The district hired learning assistants to catch up middle and high school students in reading and math, as well.
Although both districts will continue to offer a virtual learning option, they agreed in-person instruction is the most effective educational format.
“Especially down at the elementary levels, it's really hard to replace a teacher in the classroom in front of a kid,” Holder said. “And so, we're going to do everything we can to keep our kids in school.”
5. Vaccination and masks — for kids and adults — can make a difference
The doctors stressed that vaccinations can make a difference in how this school year — and this surge — plays out.
“Please, please, if you are an adult and you are able to be vaccinated, please go do so,” Clarke said. “If you have teenage children over the age of 12, please get them vaccinated. … We are one team and we have to do all this together. We cannot do it 50/50.”
Tyungu agreed: It’s not too late to be vaccinated.
“If you go get a vaccine tomorrow and you’re in school, even that first dose, we know it will have 33% protection against the delta variant,” she said.
More:At Oklahoma Children's Hospital, available pediatric beds are scarce as RSV surges
While mask-wearing can’t be required in schools, it’ll be key to keeping schools open, said Brown, of Oklahoma City Public Schools.
“If we will wear the mask, if our students and families will wear the mask, we know that we have a better likelihood of staying in school, and we are committed to staying in school,” Brown said. “We're committed to having students learn their first instruction and best instruction here at our buildings. And so while we can't require it, we know that if you do, our kids have a better shot of staying in school.”
Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Dana Branham covers health issues across the state. Have a story idea for Nuria or Dana? They can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com and dbranham@oklahoman.com.