Mask or no mask school seating set
The Elkins School District plans to separate masked and unmasked students in the classroom, according to a letter sent by the superintendent Thursday to parents and guardians.
Students who choose to wear masks will be seated together in a section of the classroom, according to the letter from Jeremy Mangrum, superintendent.
At least 6 feet of vacant space will separate them from where maskless students will be seated.
Masks are optional in the district for the 2021-22 school year.
Separating masked and unmasked students will greatly reduce the chance of masked students having to quarantine, Mangrum said.
There are two ways to avoid quarantines this year, Mangrum said.
Fully vaccinated individuals identified as probable close contacts aren't required to quarantine unless they later develop symptoms, he said. The second is for both the covid-19-positive person and the probable close contact to have been properly wearing face masks during the period of exposure.
Students won't be asked about their vaccination status, Mangrum said Friday.
School starts Aug. 18, according to the district website.
-- Mary Jordan
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UAMS will begin 3rd doses Monday
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said it will begin offering third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to patients with moderately or severely compromised immune systems on Monday.
The announcement on Friday followed the approval by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the additional doses for people whose immune systems may not generate as robust a response to the vaccines as other people's.
UAMS patients eligible for a third dose include those in active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies, transplant patients who are taking immunosuppressive therapy, patients who have received CAR-T cell therapy or a stem cell transplant (within two years of transplantation or still taking immunosuppressive therapy), patients with advanced or untreated HIV infection and patients undergoing active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids and other pharmaceuticals that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
The shots will be offered by appointment only. Patients should contact their physician to see if they qualify.
--Andy Davis
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