As schools in India and the United States plan to re-open, medical experts have sounded the alarm, saying that it could take years before students and teachers return to their classrooms or resume school without masks and social distancing. Several universities in the US have cancelled in-person undergraduate classes and have shifted them to remote learning after the COVID-19 outbreak spread across campus, and have taken to online classes.
Medical experts say a combination of herd immunity, COVID-19 vaccine and hygienic practices are needed to bring the virus down to low enough levels and allow schools to return to normal safely. However, public health officials are not turning to herd immunity anytime soon, because at least 60 to 80% of the population needs to have the antibodies to fight off the new infections. Scientists expect to find a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the year or early 2021. But medical experts say the vaccine is unlikely to be a magical cure.
Dr Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said if you have a vaccine, you are still going to have to wear a mask and always have to social distance. He said the vaccine would likely be less effective than the measles vaccination, which is about 93% effective, as per CDC. Yanzhong Huang, Director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University, said it would be difficult to return to school in the absence of protective measures like masks, social distancing and washing hands.
The health crisis is forcing universities across the world to confront long-standing challenges in higher education, such as skyrocketing tuition costs and perception of elitism. Universities may shift many classes online, have fewer international students and even refashion themselves to be more relevant to the local and national communities. Furthermore, some educators expect the pandemic will lead to more and better online teaching than ever before. And this may be the new normal until it is safe to resume school.
