The Board of Directors of the Mesa County Medical Society sent a letter to School District 51 and the Board of Education on July 23 with one simple message: Please add more COVID-19 mitigation strategies in schools this year.
This came after District 51 changed many of its practices when it released its back to school plan for the 2021-22 school year. That sparked concern from the 19-member Board.
“We’re not asking for School District 51 to totally return to what they had last year. It wasn’t fun for anyone,” said Dr. Chris Taggart, a medical professional for 14 years who spoke on behalf of Medical Society. “We just want some reasonable accommodations.”
The letter was drafted after members approached Medical Society leadership with concerns over the strategies, or lack thereof, within the plan.
Taggart, who has kids of his own, said the organization has yet to receive a response from the school board or district staff. Taggart emphasized that he was not speaking on behalf of his employer, Family Health West.
Taggart said Medical Society members were alarmed by the mask mandate being suspended for children under 12, who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. Cohorting strategies at elementary schools are suggested by the plan when possible, which Taggart and other experts say are effective in limiting the spread of the virus.
That was especially frustrating for Taggart after what he called a successful return to school last year.
“While we understand that you have competing concerns, we believe that the health and safety of the students, staff and visitors in your buildings needs to be paramount,” the letter says. “In reality, what you did last year with cohorting, masking and so forth worked and we fear that the proposed changes will only result in more COVID outbreaks, school closures, less in-person learning time, more mental illness, more COVID disease in our community and increased morbidity and mortality.”
Four days after the letter was penned, the Centers for Disease Control changed its guidance, recommending that vaccinated individuals in areas at a significant or high risk for spread of the delta variant — which includes Mesa County — and that everyone in schools should wear a mask.
District 51 declined to comment when the guidance was issued, saying that no changes to the plan had yet been made.
Taggart said that medical group understands the position the district is in and that few people, if any, enjoyed last year’s restrictions.
“We are afraid of the health consequences to our community if cases spike again and outbreaks happen, and part of our role as physicians is to look out for the health of our community Taggart said. “Our whole point is to come to reasonable accommodations.”
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