I am a parent of two children in the Blue Valley School District. I am also a pediatrician who cares for students from every district in Kansas City.
I believe our students deserve uninterrupted, full-time, in-person learning this upcoming school year. Due to our low student body vaccination rates and the rampant spread of the Delta variant, universal masking for preK- 12 students is central to achieving this goal.
Local reports suggests less than 10% of our student body is vaccinated against Covid-19, with most children ineligible for vaccine protection. National data indicates nearly 50% of 16-18 yo kids are vaccinated and less than 40% of 12-16 yo carry vaccine protection. The Covid vaccine is free, easy to find and approved for all children over the age of 12 years.
With weak mitigation measures, limited testing and low vaccination rates, the spread of Delta in our schools is inevitable. In turn, virtual learning is not an option for Blue Valley parents in case of classroom quarantines or school closures, leaving parents (again) solely responsible for the educational progress of our students.
Wearing masks decreases transmission of respiratory droplets in half. Mask wearing was one of the key mitigation efforts that allowed our Blue Valley students to have exceptionally low disease transmission (Alpha variant) during the 2020-21 school year.
BVSD is one of the best and largest public school districts in the great state of Kansas. This is our opportunity to demonstrate expert-led leadership and compassionate care as the standard for all students in our State.
As a concerned parent and community physician, I am joining the nearly 200 other physician-parents who are asking to have their voices heard. Together, we are advocating for a safe, full-time, in-person learning experience for all of Kansas City's pre-K-12 students. To do this, evidence supports universal masking as a risk mitigation measure until the Delta surge has passed AND our local public health experts indicate masking may safely be removed.
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30-second Ask —> Sign this petition. The BV School Board is watching this document closely.
60-second Ask —> Send your email to the Johnson County Health Department and the Blue Valley BOE. Doing so will increase the clear message of urgency, as well as the level of community support for this risk mitigation.
Copy and paste the following message, then sign and send it:
TO: boe@bluevalleyk12.org
CC: ed.eilert@jocogov.org, becky.fast@jocogov.org, janee.hanzlick@jocogov.org, jeff.meyers@jocogov.org, shirley.allenbrand@jocogov.org, charlotte.ohara@jocogov.org
Dear Superintendent Dr. Merrigan, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Collier, and Blue Valley BOE members,
My name is ______ and my children attend ________.
I’m writing to urge you to reconsider Blue Valley’s “optional” mask policy. This is not the time to let down our guard—the dominant Delta variant of COVID is more infectious, our county’s positivity rate is higher than it was a year ago, and our youngest children (and too many of our older kids) remain unvaccinated.
I understand: Nobody likes to be told what to do—but wearing a mask isn’t an “individual” choice; it directly affects the people around us and the community at large. Nobody wants to wear a mask just for the sake of wearing one—but it is a simple way to help ensure our kids stay healthy and in the classroom, especially when they (our elementary students) don’t yet have the choice to get vaccinated.
Please don’t be kowtowed by angry voices—and know that you have the support of thousands of families who want to keep our kids and our community safe.
(Your name)
We have an obligation to lift the voices of our experts, to speak out as concerned parents and community members and defend the safe education of our KC kids.
Thanks for your support and quick action,
Below is the letter sent to the Blue Valley Administration in its entirety:
July 29, 2021
Superintendent Merrigan, Deputy Superintendent Collier, Ms. Benjamin, Ms. Dietz, Mr. Hurley, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. Obringer-Varhall, Mr. Seitz, and Ms. Tysseling:
We are writing to you again to urge you to reconsider your position regarding a mask requirement for the upcoming school year. Blue Valley is the number one school district in Kansas and has the responsibility to lead by example. Your 2020-2025 Strategic Plan states “physical health (is) vitally important.” We need to prove that we prioritize health, safety, and in-person learning and that we follow the direction of medical and public health experts.
We agree with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)1 and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)2 that in-person learning options are preferable to virtual for both the academic and social-developmental merits. However, these benefits will be vastly undermined if COVID-19 outbreaks force school closure and consequent disruption in children’s education, all because universal masking was not implemented.
We cannot ignore or downplay the impact of COVID-19 on children. We see serious disease and even death in children from COVID-19 and from the associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). There is evidence that up to 30-50% of previously infected children experience prolonged effects of COVID-19.3 The most severe symptoms include chronic respiratory problems, debilitating fatigue, loss of sense of taste and smell, disabling gastrointestinal issues, and heart palpitations.4 Moreover, the Delta variant is a game changer with unknown long-term effects on our children. It is more than twice as contagious as the original COVID-19 strain and it is now the dominant strain in our community. Despite all of our recent progress in fighting this pandemic, the rapidly rising cases in Johnson County now show a disappointing regression back to where we were nearly 8 months ago with daily new cases in the ~ 200 range.5 Since we sent our initial letter, Children’s Mercy Hospital is currently at capacity* due to COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Adult hospitalizations are also increasing at an alarming rate and more and more ICU beds are being used by COVID-19 patients.6 Our current vaccination rate in Johnson County is ~ 50%, with ages 0-17 only ~ 10%, far below the 70-80% needed to achieve herd immunity.7
There is no doubt that masks work to curb the spread of disease. Masks are a simple, cheap, and life-saving intervention. Cloth masks are proven to decrease transmission of respiratory droplet particles by 51%.8 The consistent and appropriate use of masks last school year allowed more than 20,000 Blue Valley students to safely return to in-person instruction. According to the district’s “moderate exposure” reports, more than 2,400 potential exposures among masked students less than 3 feet apart resulted in infection in only ~1% of the time. Now, more than ever, as the highly contagious Delta variant ravages through our community, we must not let our guard down. Just last week Johnson County Parks & Recreation was forced to shut down a mask-optional summer camp of 24 students after 42% were infected with COVID-19 within a few short days. COVID-19 outbreaks at youth summer camps with no mask policies in place are a grim foreshadowing of future super-spreader events within our schools.
To keep kids in school and healthy, universal masking Pre-K through 12th grade must be required for all students, teachers, staff, and visitors, even for those who are vaccinated.
This is consistent with the updated CDC guidance which was released on July 27th.9 Our policy recommendations include the following:
This policy applies to indoor activities.
The school should partner with local public health experts to determine when to safely discontinue universal masking.
Mask exemptions due to underlying medical conditions will be permitted with authorization by a licensed medical practitioner (MD, DO, APRN, PA).
Mask policies will be enforced according to the school’s code of conduct and the necessary disciplinary action shall occur for individuals who do not comply.
These policies should be reviewed on a routine basis and modified according to the most current data available.
We urge you to not succumb to the pressure of a vocal minority to prematurely abandon these critical risk mitigation measures. Listen to the science, data, and professional advice from our public health officials who have dedicated themselves to overcoming this pandemic. For those that advocate for personal choice over community health and safety, we refer to the existing precedent within the school district’s “Nut Safer” policy. This important initiative has undoubtedly saved the lives of many children with life-threatening food allergies.
Without universal masking, school outbreaks due to COVID-19 will be inevitable. Significant illness, spread to vulnerable populations, and disruptions to school attendance due to quarantine and school closures will ensue. Our athletic programs will suffer through the season from quarantines, cancelled games, and players missing critical training opportunities. As there will be no virtual options this year, the burden of instruction will fall to parents in the case of quarantine or school closures. The possibility of school extension to the summer of 2022 to meet state requirements seems inevitable. Finally, consider the economic ramifications frequent school closures will have on Johnson County as parents stay home with elementary or middle school students. As the leading school district, we must prioritize the health and well-being of all our students, teachers, and staff, as well as the greater community.
We, the undersigned, implore the Blue Valley Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and the Board of Education to reconsider your position on a universal mask policy.
Nguyen Tran, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI – Board Certified Allergy/Immunology, Pediatrics/Internal Medicine; Overland Park, KS Sarah Dubin MD, MPH – Pulmonary/Critical Care Darcy Weidemann, MD, MHS – Pediatrician; Overland Park, KS Rupal Gupta MD, FAAP – Pediatrician; Leawood, KS Johanna Finkle, MD, FACOG, ABOM – OB/GYN Fariha Shafi, MD – Internal Medicine; Overland Park, KS Angela Myers, MD, MPH, FAAP, FPIDS – Pediatric Infectious Disease Tara Grimaldi, MD - Pediatrics Stella Zhang, DO – Family Medicine Allison Cargnel, MDJonathan Dubin, MD – Ortho Trauma Sol Dubin, MD – Ortho Lynn Fullenkamp, MD, JD – Pediatric Hospitalist Allison Hettinger, MD – Pediatrics Christian Hettinger, MD – Urology Nisha Singh, MD – Pediatric Nephrologist
Mala Goyal, MD – Pulmonary/Critical Care Margie Wongs, MD – Infectious Disease Sheena Gleason, MD – Internal Medicine/Hospitalist; Leawood, KS Julie Green, MD, PhD – Dermatology Megan Loeb, MD – Pediatrics
Selina Moreland Gierer, DO – Allergy/Immunology Mickelle Hirschman, DO – Hospitalist Julie Brown, MD – Pediatrics Christi Bartlett, MD – Palliative Care/Internal Medicine Frances Turcotte Benedict, MD, MPH, FAAP – Board Certified Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Overland Park, KS
Leslie Hueschen, MD, FAAP – Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Overland Park, KS
Rachel DiTeresi, MD, FACOG – OB/GYN Kristi Kinder, DO, Board Certified Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Kansas City, MO Abigail Proffer, MD, FACOG – OB/GYN Sandeep Riar, MD – Pediatric Nephrologist; Overland Park, KS John M. Chipko, MD – Trauma and Surgical Critical Care; Overland Park, KS
Lindsay Baldridge, DO, MS – Pediatric Endocrinology; Kansas City Stepheny Berry, MD, FACS – Surgical Critical Care; Leawood, KS Nancy Hammond, MD – Neurologist; Overland Park, KS
Robin Jenson, MD – Pediatric Anesthesiologist; Overland Park, KS Julie Bass, DO – Pediatric Gastroenterologist; Kansas City, MO Paul Tran, MD – Emergency Medicine David Finkle, MD – Emergency Medicine; Overland Park, KS Kavitha Dileepan, MD, MPH – Pediatric Endocrinology; Overland Park, KS John Bradley, DO – Emergency Medicine; Overland Park, KS Melissa AH Gener, MD, FCAP – Pediatric Pathology, Neuropathology; Overland Park, KS Amelia Sorensen, MD, FAAOS Lauren Hughes, MD – Board-certified Pediatrician, Bloom Pediatrics and Lactation; Kansas City, KS Emily Hillman, MD, MHPE – Emergency Medicine; Kansas City, MO Lauren Nye, MD – Medical Oncologist
Kavita Jadhav, MD – Internal Medicine; Kansas City Jignesh Shah, MD – Nephrology; Kansas City, MO
Amy D’Angelo, MD, FAAP – Board Certified Pediatrician, Pediatric Associate Emergency Medicine Physician
Erin Hecker, MD, FACOG – OB/GYN; Overland Park, KS Brennen Bittel, DO – Neurology Sam Bittel, Au.D
Michelle Boyce, MD – Ophthalmology; Kansas City, MO Anuj Shrestha, MD, FACP – Hematology, Oncology and Internal Medicine Niva Shakya, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics Aileen Har, MD - Pediatrics Amy Voelker, MD – Pediatrics Megha Chandramohan, MD – Pediatrics; Kansas City, MO Deva Chandramohan, MD – Radiologist; Overland Park, KS George Chou, DO – Neuromuscular Medicine; Kansas City, MO Kelly O’Brien, MD – Family Medicine; Lee’s Summit, MO Stephanie Page, MD – Pediatric Gastroenterologist Tiffany Yost, DO – Emergency Medicine; Kansas City, MO Shawna Patch, MD – Pediatrics Genie Pierson, MD, FACOG – OB/GYN Jinny Lavezzi, DO – Pediatrics/Neonatology Jacqueline Kitchen, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics; Overland Park, KS Amanda Thuringer, DO – Neurology Shailja Parikh, MD – Cardiology Sara Cross, MD – Emergency Medicine; Overland Park, KS Rebecca Edwards, MD – Internal Medicine Catherine Lewis, MD Fatima Khan, DO, FACP, FACOI – Internal Medicine Elizabeth Troilo, MD – Family Medicine Sri Krishna Alapati, MD – Diagnostic Neuroradiology Shalaunda Gray, MD – Family Medicine Dylan Werth, MD – Family Medicine Nicholas Brockert, MD – Family Medicine Colleen Johnson, MD – Otolaryngology Michelle Britton-Mehlisch, MD – Family Medicine Jennifer Hawasli, MD, FACS – General Surgery Emily Haury, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Angela Prato, MD – Family Medicine Phaedra Dowell, MD - Neurology Alicia Hillman, MD – Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Ashley Hiatt, MD – Pediatrics Kristin Bosiljevac, MD – Family Medicine Nurry Pirani, MD, FACP – Internal Medicine
Mary Champion, MD – Ophthalmology James Peppers, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, practicing adult hospital medicine on a COVID19 unit Chaitali Mahahan, MD – Neonatology Luke V. Selby, MD, MS – Surgical Oncology Sarah T. Selby, DO, FACEP – Emergency Medicine Kristi Weaver, DO – OB/GYNBenjamin Reine, DO – Family Medicine Jennifer Massengale, MD – Radiology Heather Doss, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Rebecca Edwards, MD – Internal Medicine Kristen Stuppy, MD – Pediatrics Maggie Ngar, DO – Family Medicine Ross Newman, DO – Pediatrics Beth Pitts, MD – Pediatrics Abbey Oshel, DO – Family Medicine Jennifer Teegarden, MD – Family Medicine Naseem Nikaeen, MD – Pediatrics Brook V. Nelson, MD, FACS – General Surgeon, Program Director General Surgery Residency UMKC Rita Hyde, MD – Internal Medicine Kristen Stuppy, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics; Overland Park, KS Mary Nagy, MD, FAAP – Leawood Pediatrics Catherine Watts, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics Tamara Peterson, DO – General Pediatrics Jennifer Mellick, MD – Pediatrics Stephanie Karnik, MD – Pediatrics Rachel Holt, MD – Family Medicine Jenifer Butler, MD – Pediatrics
Dharshinie Jayamaha, MD – Board Certified Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician; Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, KS Sara Lange, MD – Gynecologic Oncology Morgan Vaughn, MD – Pediatrics Ammar Alkhazna, MD, FACCP – Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Aimy Patel, MD – Pediatrics Kevin Tran, MD – Emergency Medicine Catherine Watts, MD – Pediatrics Staci Reintjes, DO – Emergency Medicine Neha Patel, MD – Allergy/Immunology Amit Patel, MD – Internal Medicine, Nephrology Pooja French, MD – PediatricsChristine Khong Tran, MD – Family Medicine Hassan Taha, MD – Pulmonary, Critical Care Medicine
Simran Elder, MD – Hematology and Medical Oncology Calie Donohue, MD – Pediatrics Kristine Freyaldenhoven, MD – General & Breast Surgery Meredith Levine, MD, FAAFP – Family Medicine, OB/GYN Jessica Costalez, MD – Pediatrics Molly Uhlenhake, DO – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Kathleen Eubanks-Meng, DO – Family Medicine Jonathan Enriquez, MD – Cardiology Emily Weisberg, MD – Anesthesiologist Ancy Maruthanal, MD – Internal Medicine Michael Abraham, MD, FAHA – Neuro Interventional Surgery and Neuro Critical Care
Abid M Bhat, MD, MBA – Pulmonary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Overland Park, KS Melanie Camejo, MD, MHPE – Emergency Medicine Celina Bernabe, DO, FACAAI – Allergy/Immunology, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Cori Passer, MD, FACAAI – Allergy/Immunology Sara Powell, MD – Allergy/Immunology
Catherine Harris, MD – Family Medicine Annie Wishna, MD – Ophthalmology
Adnan Choudhury, MD – Internal Medicine; Overland Park, KS Neeti Alapati, MD – Ophthalmology
Brandon Elder, MD – Emergency Medicine Aniesa Slack, MD – Family Medicine; Kansas City, KS Katelyn Smelser, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Alison Blevins, MD – OB/GYN Joe Juilian, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Sheshadri Madhusudhana, MD – Hematology/Oncology
Revathi Bhat, MD – Internal Medicine Anuj Shrestha, MD, FACP – Hematology/Oncology
Niva Shakya, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics Ashraf Gohar, MD – Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Medicine
Salon Killarni, MD – Internal Medicine Taylor Keen, DO – Family Medicine Brent Frossard, DO – Internal Medicine Kaitlin Wittler, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Kirsten Reilly, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics; Lenexa, KS
Mary Hamm, MD – Pediatrics; Overland Park, KS Julia Bracken, MD – Pediatric Gastroenterologist
Kimberly Randell, MD – Pediatric Emergency Medicine Johanna Peterson, MD – Internal Medicine
Kathleen Eubanks-Meng, DO – Family Medicine; Lee’s Summit, MO Tricia Fairchild, MD – Family Medicine
Lindsay Hertzig, MD – Urology Jennifer Kendal, MD – Rheumatology; Overland Park, KS Monte Roberts, DO – Pulmonary/Critical Care; Shawnee, KS Natasha Burgert, MD, FAAP – Pediatrician; Overland Park, KS
Mary Brulija, DO – OB/GYN; Overland Park, KS Bindya Marrakath, MD – Internal Medicine; Overland Park, KS
Angela Gatz, MD – Pediatrics Kaitlin Stein, MD – Pediatrics Putul Allen, MD – Pediatrics Alexandria Felton-Church, MD – Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine Margaret Bozarth, MD – Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Heidi Zook, MD – Internal Medicine Cynthia Costa, MD – Neurology Erin McGonigle-Geisler, DO – Family Medicine Aimee Eidson, DO – Internal Medicine Nicholas Smith, DO – Emergency Medicine Nida Dillon, DO – Family Medicine Rita Hyde, MD, FACP – Internal Medicine Louis Jamtgaard, MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine Shannon Kohake, MD – Neurology Monisha Das Ireland, MD – Pulmonary Critical Care Peter B. Greenspan, DO – retired OB/GYN Trung Pham, MD, MBA – Internal Medicine Marjie Wongs, MD – Infectious Diseases Lindsay Nordwald, MD, FACOG – OB/GYN
*Addendum on 8/1/2021 to provide additional clarifying information: “Capacity” refers to in-patient beds only. According to Children’s Mercy Hospital, they are experiencing high patient volumes between COVID and RSV patients. As of 7/31/2021 at 4 pm, CMH had 12 COVID patients who were hospitalized – up from 9 in-patient COVID patients on 7/29/2021.
1 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 2 https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical- guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/
3 Buonsenso D, Munblit D, De Rose C, Sinatti D, Ricchiuto A, Carfi A, Valentini P. Preliminary evidence on long COVID in children. Acta Paediatr. 2021 Jul;110(7):2208-2211. doi: 10.1111/apa.15870. Epub 2021 Apr 18. PMID: 33835507; PMCID: PMC8251440.
4 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01935-7
5 Johnson County COVID-19 Dashboard. Available: https://viz.jocogov.org/t/Public/views/JohnsonCountyKS-COVID- 19Update/Dashboard?%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aembed=y. Accessed 27 July 2021.
6 https://marc2.org/covidhub/
7 https://viz.jocogov.org/t/Public/views/JohnsonCountyKS-COVID- 19Update/Dashboard?%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aembed=y
8 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/pdfs/mm7007e1-H.pdf
9 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html
