Looking out for our friends

(Band-Aids or no Band-Aids)

Back when Bea was three or four, she had a preschool friend named Rowe whose mom I also knew socially. Rowe is a year older, and he told his mom one day that he felt it was his special duty to watch out for Bea (who, admittedly, has always been a bit of a thrill-seeker). Amused, his mom questioned him: why did he think Bea needed extra looking after? “I don’t know exactly,” he said. “But she’s sure got a lot of Band-Aids on her.”

It was true! This was back when Bea liked to wear Band-Aids as fashion, and she often had three or four on each leg. I told Rowe’s mom that I appreciated his sweet concern—it was nice to know that that Bea has friends keeping an eye out (even if her wounds were imaginary).

Rowe and Bea go to different elementary schools, but I realized that he was still looking out for her—and all the other kids in their district—when I saw a post from his mom, Tamzin, this week on Instagram. Rowe was fired up after our county school board’s vote to end mask mandates in schools as of March 7. So what did he do? He asked his teacher to help him look up the board members’ email addresses, and he sent this message:

Bea and I were impressed, because we don’t feel safe about the new mask policies either. Though Rowe is right that masks are “maybe optional”—the district reserves the right to change course if Covid cases spike—there are a lot of reasons to be concerned. For one thing, our community transmission is still rated “high,” with greater than ten percent positivity. From where we sit, it feels like Omicron isn’t over: I’m still hearing from colleagues and teaching assistants that our students are testing positive for Covid, and around 2,400 Americans die of Covid every day—a significantly higher number than we saw with the Delta variant.

Under-12 vaccination continues to lag behind the rates of adults and older kids—as of a month ago, less than 20% of kids in this age group were fully vaccinated (with two doses) nationwide. In our county, that number is higher—around 36% as of January 14—but not nearly high enough. And look at the younger kid vaccination rates in other counties: 2.4% in Montgomery, 3.9% in Robeson, less than 6% in Rockingham (again, this is as of January 14—I assume and hope these rates are higher now). Yet on Thursday Governor Cooper advised that local municipalities ease their mask mandates, including at schools.

I generally like and trust Governor Cooper, a Democrat who contends with a rotten Republican-dominated legislature. But as I listened to his press conference, driving home from NC State on Thursday, I was confused. Why now, ahead of any announced changes in the CDC’s guidance?

It’s true that Covid has been less serious for younger people (so far). But as Rowe points out, there’s a whole group of kids in local elementary schools—the preschoolers—who haven’t yet been eligible for a vaccine. Many parents of under-five kids, as well as people with underlying conditions or compromised immune systems, feel left out by this rush to get back to normal. And while kids can still wear masks, it’s going to be hard for kids to make that choice when their friends aren’t. Plus, it’s safer when we all wear masks. Couldn’t we do that for just a little longer?

As epidemiologist, longtime AIDS activist, and MacArthur fellow Gregg Gonsalves wrote in the New York Times this week, “There has to be a better way out of the rubble of the past two years. What would it mean to move into a future in which a common fate mattered as much as our own? It would mean no one was disposable.”

Rowe’s message seems much the same—the common fate matters more, especially when the stakes are so high. His mom shared this photo of Rowe, smiling after his second Covid shot, and he agreed to answer a few questions from us:

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Bea and Belle: What's your favorite thing about school?

Rowe: My favorite things about school are all of my friends that are always playing with me, and my teacher, who is amazing.

What is wearing a mask like for you?

It’s extremely easy, and I think everyone should keep their masks on until Covid is gone. 

Why would you prefer for everybody to keep wearing their masks?

Because it’s safer for everyone. I don’t want anyone to get Covid. 

You brought up kids who can't get vaccinated yet at your school--good point! You also said it may make it hard for people to stay close to their friends. Another good point! Why do you think it's so hard for adults to listen to kids?

Because adults think they’re superior to kids, even though a lot of kids would make better politicians than grownups and have better ideas.

Finally, what gave you the idea to email the school board?

Because I thought that maybe it would change something about making masks optional. 

Have you heard back from anyone there?

Yes, I heard back from two people. They did not seem to care about my opinion.         Thank you for interviewing me!

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Thank you, Rowe, for taking this stand, allowing us to share your message with others, and for continuing to look out for all of us.

I regret not being at the school board meeting where this was decided, but that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to have a say, or ask questions about how these decisions are getting made going forward. Inspired by Rowe, Bea and I will take some time to write to our school board members tomorrow. Another issue that we want to share with them is that it is now harder for schools to book performers and outside guests—a potentially huge loss for these kids!

If you’re in Chatham, you can find your board members’ emails here. Wake school board members are here. Durham board members are here. Chapel Hill/Carrboro, here. Orange County, here. Alamance-Burlington, here. Charlotte/Mecklenburg, here.

And tell your friends, vaccines are safe and recommended for people five and up! And you’ll get a cool Band-Aid!