There is no easy proposal and there is an argument to say that letting it rip in schools in September may save lives in the long run now that winter has begun. With all the vaccines available maybe keeping social distancing and face masks in schools from September until the October half term and then a mass vaccination roll out to the 12-16 year olds?
My point was more along the lines that there has been a fair bit of press of late, including from our PM, that rates in Europe are climbing steeply (which is true) without acknowledging that our rates have been high for 3 months and continue to be so. A fair few loved ones have been lost in that time too.
I don’t feel forcefully (they have been able to have it for months) vaccinating 12-17 year olds is of any benefit (other than the relevant JCVI category who should have already had it). I’ve seen no data anywhere to change my mind on that.
Mask are also utterly pointless. In strict circumstances where they weren’t being touched, worn correctly, replaced every 10 minutes, then yes, maybe some benefit. But none of that is done.
Social distancing also pointless and unworkable. They are all on the same buses and same classrooms. You can’t socially distance without significantly reducing numbers. I also question how much effect that would have as the volume of the room is still the same. There’s still a lot of question marks on transmission. What is the biggest factor? Physical contact, surface contact, breathing in same air? I’ve known countless households only have one person test positive yet the rest of the household is fine without even being vigilant.
On the last paragraph, i doubt our rates have been any different to the rest of Europe for ages, we just test more. And with our high vaccination rate in the vulnerable, cases are actually a good thing and has been the plan all along (as you allude to). Unfortunately people have died, but if they have been double (and triple) vaccinated then what more can you do? We will never have higher vaccination coverage than this. So if we want restrictions now, then next year they will have to be even stricter and then more the following year etc.
You have to draw the line somewhere, and based on the the data available it was correctly drawn in the summer.
