RIGHT SPEAK: The CDC Says COVID is Endemic. That Doesn't Mean the Danger is Past; COVID Guidelines have Changed. Here’s When a Sick Kid Can Return to School, and other C-Virus related stories

The CDC says COVID is endemic. That doesn't mean the danger is past:

U.S. health officials now say COVID-19 is an endemic disease. That means it's here to stay – circulating regularly like the flu. Even though that changes how public health officials think about managing the virus, they say it doesn't mean being less cautious or vigilant during surges, like the current one this summer. COVID still poses significant risks for older individuals and those with underlying conditions — and anyone who gets COVID is at risk of developing long COVID.

Ashish Jha is the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health who served as President Biden's COVID-19 response coordinator. He encourages people to to do what they can to protect themselves.

"If we just say OK, 'Learning to live with it means we're just going to let it do what it's doing,' the burden on our society is going to be very high," he says. "We're going to see, you know, a majority of Americans get infected every year. We're going to see a lot of older Americans die unnecessarily ... We can do better. And we should demand and expect that we do better than that." --->LISTEN and READ MORE HERE

COVID guidelines have changed. Here’s when a sick kid can return to school:

As schools reopen for another year, they are focused on improving student attendance. But back-to-school is hitting just as COVID-19 cases are increasing, raising the question: When is a child too sick for school?

School absences surged during the pandemic and have yet to recover. Nearly 1 in 4 students remains chronically absent, defined as missing 10% or more of the academic year, according to the latest data analyzed by The Associated Press.

One reason for continued high absences: After years of COVID-19 quarantines, parents are more cautious about sending children to school when they might be contagious with an illness.

When a child misses school, even for an excused absence like a sick day, it’s harder for them to stay on track academically. So schools and health experts are trying to change the culture around sick days.

Here’s what they want parents to know.

COVID guidelines have changed

During the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged people who tested positive for COVID-19 to isolate at home for a set number of days and to quarantine after exposure to the coronavirus. In some settings, people with any mild illness were urged to remain home until symptoms were clear.

Those standards, and the caution behind them, remained for years after schools reopened to in-person instruction. That meant children often missed large portions of school after contracting or being exposed to COVID-19 or other illnesses.

This spring, COVID-19 guidance officially changed. Now, the CDC suggests people treat COVID-19 like other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu and RSV.

Fever-free for 24 hours

If a child has a fever, they should stay home, no matter the illness.

A child can return to school when their fever has been gone for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. Other symptoms should be improving. --->READ MORE HERE