
While national, regional, and even local representative across the United States can be seen debating the necessity for COVID-19 precautions for school children, in both the vaccine as well as mask mandates, there appears to be a very different set of behaviors transpiring in schools across Europe and the United Kingdom, in particular. One of the most notable differences between the initial response to the pandemic, however, appears to be the rate of vaccination in Europe versus the vaccination across the United States, in particular for select states in the southeast. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article by international authors Sylvers and Douglas “Europe’s Covid-19 Containment Is Tested as Schools Reopen”, “high vaccination rates and mask mandates boost confidence that Europe can avoid a resurgence of the virus.”
Much like there are variances between the ways in which select states in the U.S. are approaching mandates to combat the pandemic’s expansion, Europe is also witnessing similar alternative approaches. The article details how Italy requires all faculty and staff to provide evidence of vaccination or a series of negative tests in addition to “obligatory masks” for all who traverse the school’s threshold. On the other hand, it details how the United Kingdom, for the most part, has returned to pre-pandemic normalcy, without the requirement for masks or even vaccinations for anyone associated with the school setting.
The caveat between the ways in which the United States’ individual states are approaching the precautions and the variations in approach offered between the countries in Europe are distinctly different in one critical facet. The vaccination rate for the component countries in Europe has far exceeded that of the overall vaccination rate in the United States, according to a June 29, 2021WSJ article entitled “U.S. Poised to Fall Behind Europe on Covid-19 Vaccine First Doses.”
While everyone is watching to see if the numbers begin to rise, stay constant, or even fall in school settings across the world, it is paramount to recognize that the baselines are different as the population vaccination percentages are widely disparate. While England appears to be offering the most freedom in classroom settings, in many cases returning to a pre-pandemic climate, it is noteworthy to acknowledge that they are doing so only after evidencing a present vaccination rate of 89.8% of the population, age 16 and beyond having received at least the first dose of the vaccine, according to the Coronavirus database offered by the United Kingdom. While it still more conservative in lifting its Covid restrictions, Italy is poised to meet its goal to have 80% of the population over age 12 vaccinated by September 30, 2021. Clearly, these vaccinations percentages would earn the U.K. and Italy passing grades of a B+ and a B-, respectively. The vaccination pace in the U.S., however, presents a more troubling academic outcome with current statistics evidencing only 65% of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine, earning the U.S. a failing grade for vaccination status. This data certainly must all be added to the safety equation in deciding how much protection is enough in schools across the United States to ensure that students are protected from an indiscriminate and still unconquered villain in Covid-19, especially while overall vaccinations rates remain at critical levels.
Angela Farmer is a lifelong educator, an author, and a syndicated columnist. She serves Mississippi State University as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Honors Education at the Shackouls Honors College where she can be reached at afarmer@honors.msstate.edu
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