A year ago and covid

The pandemic hit here in Washington late Feb.

A year ago, Microsoft closed, sending dh home (he'd already been working from home.)

A year ago, Linnea's school district was first in the nation to freaking close. She hasn't been back.

And dh is celebrating his second quarantine birthday.

But now... it looks like there is going to be a push to get kids back to school. Even high schools.

I hope so.


Linnea has thrived under remote schooling, so while I'm not eager for her to go back from an academic standpoint, I'd like her to have some semblance of a senior year, some contact with her friends before they all scatter off. I honestly didn't think she would be going back, but it looks like Inslee is going to push for this, and we'll see.

I think it'd be good. Just to remind her of what it means to be in a classroom, because if not, college in the fall, after over a year with no in-person learning could be a bit of a shock.


What does concern me a bit? I get that they're prioritizing teachers. That makes sense. But. If I send my kid to school, even with precautions, I am now expanding my bubble A LOT. This is not the well controlled out-doors situation of rowing, this is school, even with mitigation. It might be the best thing for kids, but as a parent, it gives me pause to think about what Linnea going back to HS might mean for dh and me.

ETA 5 Mar
LOL. It looks like WA state will start vaccinating people over 50 with two co-morbidities in late March (or maybe April?). No date on when people over 50 with one co-morbidity will be eligible -that would be us- but it seems like it's not going to be for several more months. I was telling dh... if they send kids back to school, surely that should count as a second co-morbidity, right? :)
END ETA

Also, the push to give everyone the crappy J&J vaccine is really pissing me off. It's a great vaccine! they say, it'll keep you from getting severely ill or dying. Say all the people who've gotten the good vaccines. But seriously, with with lack of data on long covid, and the numbers on the J&J vaccine, I'm not convinced that the attitude of "The best vaccine is the one in your arm!" thing is actually true. The cutoff age in the J&J study was 60, and I'm not 60 yet, but 60 with a pre-existing condition the effectivity drops to 40%, less than the 60% for younger adults. The mRNA vaccines do not show a similar drop.

I really wish they'd come out and admit it's a crappier vaccine than the other two, and figure out if people who've had the J&J vaccine can get the mRNA one safely as soon as it's available. I dunno.