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Credit: Dan Gaken, Flickr
The delta variant of the coronavirus is so contagious that a specialist at the Mayo Clinic says children who are not vaccinated have a good chance of contracting COVID-19.
The stern warning comes from Dr Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. He was asked why children 12 and older should get vaccinated before returning to school for in-person learning.
“We want the kids to go back to school, we all know the benefits of going to school. But right now, with what’s happening in our country and in our communities with the spread of the delta variant, you are really making a choice between getting vaccinated or contracting COVID-19. This delta variant is just contagious, “said Dr Rajapakse.
Children under 12 cannot yet receive the vaccine, which is why Rajapakse and other health experts are urging all those eligible for the vaccine to help protect these children.
“The most important thing we can do to protect children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated themselves is to ensure that as many people around them and who interact with them are vaccinated, ”said Dr Rajapakse. . “Anyone over 12 should be vaccinated, both to protect themselves, but also to protect people who are not yet eligible, such as children under 12.”
The CDC changed its guidelines last month to encourage everyone over the age of 2 to wear a mask in schools, regardless of their immunization status. It’s up to every district in Minnesota to enforce mask warrants because Gov. Tim Walz relinquished his emergency peacetime powers earlier this summer.
Minneapolis public schools will impose masks on returning students; Rochester Public Schools make masks mandatory for children aged 2 to 12; St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard will present a resolution requiring masks for all children ages 2 and older, staff and visitors at Tuesday’s board meeting. The resolution will then be voted on at next week’s board meeting.
Of the estimated 5.7 million people in Minnesota, 57.5% have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 54.3% have completed the series of vaccines, according to the health department of the state.
Statewide, 44% of children aged 12 to 16 have had at least one injection, compared to 54% of children aged 16 to 17, according to the data.
The country’s leading infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci believes vaccination warrants are now needed to help stop the delta variant, with the problem growing more urgent as children are on the verge of returning in class.
“The time is right,” Fauci said, speaking as a guest on NBC Meet the press. “We have to go further to get people vaccinated. You want to persuade them, that’s good… but for those who don’t want to, I think we have to make mandates at the local level.
Coronavirus cases have increased 40% in the United States over the past week, while hospitalizations for COVID-19 have jumped 36% during the same period.
The surge comes as coronavirus cases in the United States have increased 40% over the past week, while covid-related hospitalizations have increased 36% over the same period, reports the Washington Post.
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