After almost a year of having put aside face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many boys and girls are preparing to return – or have already returned – to school in a hybrid way (face-to-face and virtually). This implies restarting routines whose primary purpose is to benefit from attending classes in academic, social and emotional terms, but with the greatest security to avoid possible contagion.

However, while the new COVID-19 vaccines offer hope for resuming some activities of daily living, and many grandparents may have received at least the first dose of one of the currently available vaccines, the reality is that the role of grandparents has been affected. Thus, while some no longer see or care for their grandchildren as often as before the pandemic hit, others have continued to provide that essential support for their families .

Johnny Gerena, who is retired from the United States Postal Service, is in charge of picking up his grandchildren, Pedro Juan and Alicia de Lourdes, at the office of his son-in-law, who has set up an area for the little ones to study virtually three days a the week, while in the other two he cares for them at home, where his wife Milagros de Lourdes, who is a teacher and educational therapist, tutors them.

ADVERTISING

"Although, on the one hand, I feel that I am being, even more, part of raising my grandchildren, on the other it hurts me that we have the limitations that we have," says Johnny, while mentioning that, with the rest of the family group does not see each other as often as he would like, although, fortunately, due to the nature of their jobs, both his wife and daughter are already vaccinated and other members of the family must take the molecular test for COVID-19 regularly.

Although for Johnny, being a present grandfather has been a natural extension of his role as a father, in the face of the pandemic, he is concerned about access to vaccines against COVID-19 and the lack of organization in the vaccination process. . Just a few days ago he managed to get vaccinated at a center, when an acquaintance told him to check if they could see him, because the appointment he had made since his vaccination phase had been canceled twice.

“The issue of vaccines worries me greatly. I am much older than 65 [years old], and I tried several times to get [ an appointment for] the vaccine. When I finally got it, they changed the date for me. So that part worries me, because, apparently, the matter is going much slower than I understand it should go, "laments Johnny.

Regarding his routine with his grandchildren, he explains that, inside his vehicle and together with the little ones, he waits for her daughter to leave work and, when she "picks them up, everyone goes their way." he says resignedly. He affirms that, in the last meeting they held as a family, they decided that the children would not attend classes in person for the remainder of the school year.

ADVERTISING

On his part, for Manolo Rivera Cubano, who is in charge of raising his grandson, José Manuel, the greatest concern lies in the fear of getting infected.

“The fear of contagion of coronavirus or not being able to avoid it is very present in the possible return to face-to-face classes and, therefore, it is not so easy to decide what to do, and more so at my age. But, with all this concern, I prefer that my grandson go to school in person," Manolo shares, noting that "children really thrive when there is structure and consistency, and this pandemic is changing both for them." Manolo is a faithful believer that school is essential in this process and that not having attended school for almost a year has had some detrimental impacts on the minors.

“A problem that quarantine has had for children is an excess of parents and an excess of screens that generate emotional wear, concentration problems and lack of motivation. Learning is always social”, he affirms categorically.

To prepare for the face-to-face return to school, Manolo and his grandson have begun to practice the use of the mask and hand sanitizer at more extended times inside the house. “Likewise, have a visual framework of what 6 feet of physical distancing means. When you get home, you'll have an area to leave your clothes and shower right away,” he notes.

For Manolo and José Manuel it has been a year full of challenges, since, “when the quarantine began, we also found out that their beloved school was closed due to lack of enrollment. He started at a new school, without knowing his teachers or classmates, and the adjustment was more difficult. In addition, he is very excited to go to school, which he has never visited. For my part, it opens up the opportunity for me to be able to do my chores and errands more easily, since we both work from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., which makes it difficult for us to go out, clean and move around the house. , in short, privacy ”, he abounds, commenting that, due to his age, he has already been vaccinated.

ADVERTISING

These are just two examples of the many that exist around us. Taking this into account, what is the risk of minors becoming infected with COVID-19 when attending schools? Is it safe for grandparents to care for them if they attend in-person classes?

The truth is that the answers to these questions must be evaluated according to the particular circumstances of each family and depend, in part, on the care that they exercise.

In this regard, Dr. Carmen I. Suárez, a pediatrician and president of the Puerto Rican Pediatrics Association (SPP), believes that, as part of this evaluation, parents must be realistic about the health risks of their children in relation to the COVID-19, when attending face-to-face classes .

“For example, there are completely healthy children who should have a lower risk of going to school and there are others who may have chronic or severe health problems that can put them at greater risk, so the parent must think about the particular case of their child. son and make a prudent decision”, he maintains.

While she highlights that, globally, it has been observed that attending schools does not appear to significantly increase community transmission of the virus, this is dependent on everyone complying with public health recommendations .

“It has not been seen in other parts of the world, where schools are open, that the greatest contagions arise from school sources, but rather that they arise from the community, from what we do, from who we hang out with, so it has not been seen that the school represents a significant focus for the spread of COVID-19 ”, emphasizes the pediatrician.

ADVERTISING

How to Choose an Online Forex Broker | Your Hot Stock Picks: How to Choose an Online Forex Broker. There are a l...http://t.co/EjqQAcs8

— miuythgg Mon Feb 27 05:56:26 +0000 2012

However, what about the grandparents? As Dr. Lumen Vera, a specialist in Internal Medicine and medical director of the Hospital Menonita Aibonito, explains, studies have been consistent in showing that age is definitely a risk factor that increases mortality from COVID-19. especially if there are comorbidities . On the other hand, it highlights that, although "children have an immune system that is maturing, so they can better tolerate susceptibility to the virus, that the disease does not develop or that, if it does develop, it is milder and has less potential for infection, this does not mean that they will not become contaminated” , clarifies the doctor.

Due to this, both doctors emphasize that it should be considered that, even though the vaccines are highly effective and it is expected that it will be safer for individuals over 65 years of age to be around other people (especially when they develop the greatest possible immunity), this does not mean that they cannot get sick and, in turn, infect children and other people . Nor does it mean that precautionary recommendations should be ignored, since the majority of the population has not yet been vaccinated. According to Dr. Vera and Dr. Suárez, the approved vaccines against COVID-19 greatly reduce the possibility of the virus striking a vaccinated person in an aggressive and fatal way.

“The call is for grandparents to get vaccinated,” says Dr. Suárez, while adding that “two weeks after the last vaccine, it is understood that, if they get COVID-19, it should not be severe, that they take him to a hospital or a death,” he says.

ADVERTISING

Dr. Vera warns that it is necessary not to create a false sense of security because the grandparents are already vaccinated, since the percentage of infectiousness of the virus in the community is still high and there are still many people to be vaccinated. At press time, 402,214 people on the island had already received at least the first dose of one of the vaccines.

Although the arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to increase the number of people vaccinated (so far, only 551 have received this vaccine), the consensus on the island is that it will still be necessary to maintain prevention measures such as : use of masks, hand washing and distancing .

The evidence that exists so far suggests that most children who get COVID-19 have no symptoms or their symptoms are milder. For this reason, parents, grandparents, relatives, and school personnel must take the necessary measures to avoid exposing themselves and others to the virus, even if they have been vaccinated.

Here are some recommendations you can consider before asking a grandparent or caregiver to take care of a child who will attend school:

The AAP and CDC recommend reviewing preventive measures with children and youth and reinforcing their importance:

1. Wash and sanitize your hands more often.
2. Maintain physical distance from other students.
3. Wear a mask.
4. Avoid sharing objects with other students, including water bottles, devices, writing supplies, and books.
5. Use hand sanitizer (contains at least 60% alcohol). Make sure you use a safe product.

"Now taking temperature has a little more value because children, if they are sick, are more susceptible to it rising," says Dr. Vera, who recommends that schools emphasize this health metric.

ADVERTISING

The most important thing is to make decisions based on each family's experiences and level of risk. Therefore, in addition to reading relevant information from reliable sources, grandparents should speak with their primary care physician, even after being vaccinated, to determine their risk and decide whether to care for or reunite with their grandchildren during the pandemic.

For their part, parents should do the same with their children's pediatrician. "A decision based on science will always give them greater security," says Dr. Suárez.

Here are the items children and youth should be on the lookout for, according to the AAP:

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics / healthychildren.org

In recent days, the CDC relaxed the guidelines to, among other things, indicate that people who had already received full doses of any of the vaccines could meet with each other, without wearing masks or following physical distancing. However, even if this is your case, it is better to follow prevention measures until herd immunity is achieved in our population, which, according to Dr. Vera, is estimated to be 75% of the population.

On the new guidance, the CDC reports that early research suggests that in addition to protecting against severe cases of COVID-19, which could lead to hospitalization or death, licensed vaccines also likely make people less vulnerable. to infection and potentially less likely to spread the virus. However, this does not constitute an open letter to set aside the recommendations to avoid contagion . Pay attention to the following points:

ADVERTISING

Remember that because this is a disease that doctors and scientists are still learning about, there will be a lot of information that will change as new findings are made. The most important thing is that you stay informed through reliable sources, that you follow the recommended guidelines and that you do not let your guard down.

With physical distancing, the mental health of the general population has been affected and, for grandparents, it has not been the exception. Because older adults already face physical and emotional health challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated the feeling of loneliness for many of them. Therefore, stay connected and attentive to their needs.

According to the CDC, under these circumstances, it is natural to feel stress, anxiety, anguish and worry. Therefore, taking charge of caring for a grandchild can be, for many grandparents, the perfect task to occupy their minds and feel productive and relieve feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry or frustration; difficulty concentrating and making decisions; and aggravation of mental health problems . Just do it safely.

For their part, children and young people have also faced challenges. Before returning to school in person, follow these other recommendations: