ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has set a goal to have in-person learning available to all students in the state by March 1.
Understandably parents, teachers and students are both happy about it -- but also have concerns. Experts from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital have weighed in on the topic.
The discussion covered a wide range of topics -- from trends in teenage depression during the pandemic -- to ways to help children cope with the abnormal circumstances created by COVID-19. The main topic of interest was the safety of returning to in-person learning.
“At this point in time we actually have really encouraging data that this is a safe move for schools to start returning to in person education. Recently, there have been several good studies that have come out that have shown that the rate of transmission within schools is really really low, often much lower than it is in just the general community,” Dr. Alison Tribble said.
Tribble is an infectious disease physician at the hospital. She said it’s critical to get teachers vaccinated. The bottom line though, is that current research doesn’t find that schools are a primary driver of spread.
You can watch the Q&A below: