Daycare Centers a Critical Resource That Have Been Forgotten During Pandemic
By Marie Boster
Let’s face it. The first day back to school after the holiday break last week was stressful for most families.
Westchester County has seen more daily cases of COVID-19 than at any other time in the pandemic, with a positive rate over 20 percent for the last week. In the last three days of December the New York State Department of Health reported more than 11,000 new active cases in our county, and that doesn’t count those who tested positive at home with a rapid test and decided to self-isolate.
In the last few weeks, it seems like this virus is everywhere. So it’s understandable to be a little apprehensive and unsure about going back to routines like work, indoor activities and school.
However, if your child is five years or older, they have a lot going for them. First, they are eligible for, and hopefully have had, a vaccine, and perhaps are even boosted.
Second, while masking is tiresome and less effective with the Omicron variant, your child has some practice and can probably manage that responsibility.
Your final reassurance is that thanks to Gov. Hochul and BOCES, local schools have been infused with a stash of rapid tests, which helps knock out uncertainty and supports community monitoring. We know that is critical in flattening the curve.
If your child is under five and headed to one of the 323 daycare centers in Westchester, your reality is very different. Why? Because there currently is no vaccine for children under five.
Last month, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they had to go back to their clinical trial for children six months through four years old with different dosing, so a vaccination is further away than originally hoped. Additionally, your child may not be able to wear a mask. The CDC does not recommend masks for children under two. Anyone with a young child knows that the self-awareness and responsibility to keep a mask on correctly is going to be difficult anyway.
Finally, your daycare center has most likely not received a single rapid test to monitor anyone.
We have learned a lot in the past two years about the strengths and weaknesses of our public health system. We have learned a lot about virus transmission and prevention. But it seems we still haven’t learned how to prioritize our limited resources for some of the most vulnerable members of our communities – young children and the devoted people who serve them.
Innovative daycare center directors, like the one at the center my infant daughter attends, had to beg her local mayor for tests and was able to get five rapid tests. Five. That center serves 140 children in northern Westchester. Several teachers are out because they tested positive. They serve an economically diverse population and many of their children receive county subsidies and scholarships to attend.
Parents need this service. As the center’s director said, “I feel like I’m dealing on the black market to get tests. The employers of the parents don’t care if daycare is closed. They expect their employees to show up. We need to be able to test the staff and support the families. Our goal is to stay open so parents can continue to work.”
Supporting families during a pandemic is a noble and important goal. If this isn’t the time to prioritize support and resources for daycare centers, then when?
I would feel more hopeful about this pandemic coming to an end if local and statewide officials show that they have learned that the daycare infrastructure is critical to our pandemic recovery and needs help too. Daycare is the little economic engine that keeps going because of a devoted, largely underpaid, under-resourced, mostly female workforce who thankfully takes loving care of kids. Let’s show them the care they show to our children every single day.
Marie Boster is a parent of two children who attend daycare in northern Westchester.
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