Less than two weeks into the school year, a Kentucky school district has canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week after nearly a fifth of its students came down with Covid, strep throat, the flu and other illnesses.

The Lee County School District, which has just under 900 students, began classes Aug. 9 but noticed attendance drop to about 82% on Friday, Superintendent Earl Ray Schuler said.

By Monday, the rate dipped to 81%, and 14 staff members called in sick, Schuler said.

It's immunity debt from those strict never-ending kentucky lockdowns, right? Or maybe they all forgot how to wash their hands?

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[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 42 points 2 years ago (5 children)

My professors announced that having COVID is no longer an excuse for missing class. If you're in the hospital from it that can be excused with proof. Otherwise they aren't even recording lectures.

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 32 points 2 years ago

We lived through a pandemic and got to witness hygeine practices get even worse because of it. Amazing.

[–] SeducingCamel@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Love that we can be sick as a dog and they still expect us to work. My boss told me he went to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner and the meat packer literally went "hey man I have covid they made me come in"

[–] ChairmanSpongebob@hexbear.net 20 points 2 years ago (1 children)

people being to forced to come to work sick is terrible, but when that happens, they should all be like that

[–] SeducingCamel@hexbear.net 16 points 2 years ago

Oh yeah definitely glad he mentioned it

[–] bumblebeehellbringer@hexbear.net 23 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Wow what the fuck. Can students record the lectures and distribute them for each other? That's such a horrible policy, y'all deserve better.

Edit to add: Also, what college student can afford to go to the hospital? Fuck that. That's so classist. And ableist.

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't think students can record. The good news is that the university sells mandatory health insurance if you don't already have it. My last class had 250ish students.

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 12 points 2 years ago

You can record lectures if you have accommodations to record lectures

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 23 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Imagine saying that for any other sickness. "Sorry about your polio, but I need asses in seats."

[–] FloridaBoi@hexbear.net 17 points 2 years ago

“Your cancer still allows you to sit and pay attention”

[–] FuckYourselfEndless@hexbear.net 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

We need to start doing bio-terrorism against pro-COVID fascists like this.

[–] MoreAmphibians@hexbear.net 35 points 2 years ago (1 children)

[–] SerLava@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago

They got banned just now for other posts

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 26 points 2 years ago (2 children)

In similar news, according to Biobot, wastewater numbers in Alexandria, VA are double the national average. Gonna see a huge drop off in activity here soon as all the fedposting get sick.

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 18 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I guess the "immunity wall" isn't stopping exponential growth in infections. Maybe it will work next year?

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 22 points 2 years ago

"Just one more wave, Bro."

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago

My guess is we're going to be seeing this same pattern indefinitely - looks like we get cyclical upticks in fall and spring, and because vaccination is going to increase the rates of asymptomatic cases we're going to see more covert infections. Hope that doesn't impact the long covid numbers, because if it does, whoof.

Also obligatory joke that whatever they're spending the defense budget on it's not HEPA filters for the Pentagon.

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Just saw this: COVID-19 hospitalization rates have risen 77% in Virginia so far this month amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country.

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago

jesus-christ

[–] ClimateChangeAnxiety@hexbear.net 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Oh god I’m so stressed that undergrads are back I don’t want Petri dishes walking into my lab all the time

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago

Isn't that where the Petri dishes are supposed to go, though?

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

strep throat

Meaning that they had a sore throat, didn't know to swab their throat for the rapid test, swabbed their nose instead, and the nurse decided it wasn't COVID after the rapid test was negative

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Probably, lol. But also, serious strep infections have been increasing every year since we went back to normal. It's been blamed on "lockdowns", of course, even when it happens in places that barely had any covid mitigations, and strep is known to increase after respiratory infections because of the stress it causes on our immune system.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/12/24/new-cdc-warning-invasive-strep-a-infections-among-children-rising/?sh=22f376f52025

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/spike-in-severe-illness-caused-by-strep-a-bacteria-is-global-phenomenon-including-in-canada-1.6813665

https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON429

https://www.9news.com.au/national/strep-a-australia-experiences-surge-in-flesheating-cases-murdoch-childrens-research-institute-study-finds/3ee5f78c-6e73-48f7-af59-596c42178346

[–] macabrett@hexbear.net 17 points 2 years ago

I'm still mad that people latched onto immunity debt like it was fact at the same time we were getting a ton of information about how covid weakens your immune system.

[–] Monsieur_bleu@hexbear.net 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

there are rapid tests for strep throat and honestly, you can fucking tell on account of all the pus and the frequent rotting smell as it strep turns eats your throat tissue and shits out pus

[–] sovietknuckles@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago

Yep, real strep throat is no joke

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

FLUnet isn't showing a dramatic uptick in positivity, yet so I'm gonna say it's almost entirely covid. For now at least. I'm sure RSV and Flu are waiting in the wings to start their seasons early.

I wonder if kids are getting hit particularly harder this wave. sadness

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah, I doubt there's a lot of flu going around or actually being tested for, but who knows? With the kinds of damage covid can do to the immune system people might just get sicker sooner and for longer every season.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago

Oh, absolutely. I have no doubt that this year and every year after is just going to be a more and more hedonistic orgy of virulence and opportunistic infections.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

People are still catching COVID? Why aren't they vaccinated?

[–] panopticon@hexbear.net 15 points 2 years ago

picard

[–] Kuori@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago

jesus shitting christ

vaccines don't keep you from getting sick. please god tell me you are trying to be funny and you're not actually this uninformed

[–] DrCrustacean@hexbear.net 6 points 2 years ago

PIGPOOPBALLS