We have a Reopening Task Force put together and you will soon be getting a survey that will provide us with information we will be needing to make some decisions about how we will proceed. With your input and the wisdom of the Task Force, we will come up with the “rules of engagement.”
Right now, I want to explain MY thinking. This is NOT an opinion of the Task Force and I expect the Task Force to give this opinion no more consideration than that of any other Task Force member. (That’s why we have committees, doncha know.)
These are the facts I am working with:
- Vaccinated people will very rarely get sick and will not get sick enough to be hospitalized even if they have a breakthrough infection. These vaccines are by far the most effective ones ever created.
- Vaccinated people do not pass along “silent” infections.
- Everyone over the age of 11 can be vaccinated.
- A very small proportion of the population cannot be vaccinated for MEDICAL reasons.
- People who are immune-compromised have lots more to worry about than COVID-19 viral infections and therefore would not normally be attending indoor public gatherings of any sort.
- All of our worship services and some of our adult programs will be available online, both live and recorded (worship services only).
- UUCA’s air-handling equipment in all three buildings will be modified to include UV-C light treatment and more air filtering.
- The world is NEVER a safe place, viruses and bacteria are around all the time, people drive and ride in cars, go up ladders, etc.
With that set of facts, MY conclusion is that we can resume normal activities RIGHT NOW (though I’d rather wait for the HVAC upgrades). I know it feels uncomfortable, but a vaccinated person can sit in a room full of singing people and be fine. The vaccinated person does not need to have the other people be vaccinated.
So, what about the younger kids? In this case, I think it will be up to parents to decide how they feel about it all. The teachers in the room will be vaccinated, so they are safe. I’ll leave it to our survey and the Task Force to decide if we will require younger kids to be masked or socially distanced.
I also want to point out, in case it’s not obvious, that this is a response to conditions as they are now. Should other evidence present itself, such as fading vaccination protection or variants that elude the immunity of the vaccines, we will be FLEXIBLE! We know how to lock down. What we seem to have forgotten is how to resume normal life.
Linda Topp, Director of Administration