Yesterday was the first day of school up here in the Pacific Northwest. On the one hand, it totally felt normal to have Labor Day on Monday and then the first day of school on Tuesday. That's how I grew up.

On the other hand, they've been out of school over a year...and seeing everybody masked up at school is...weird.

Weird because up here, nearly nobody wears a mask unless they have to.

But masks are about all the kids have to protect themselves. You've got selfish a-holes who won't get the vaccine (I'm talking to the adults here), who won't wear a mask, who won't implore their children to wear a mask, and school districts that have been forced to open with last year's guidelines (that sucked) in the midst of a 3x-worse pandemic now versus a year ago (literally).

Social distancing is no longer a thing. Kids are supposed to be 3 feet apart, but they aren't. And three feet is bullshit any way.

They get mask breaks. Can you imagine telling your girlfriend's mom or dad that you have "condom breaks" (and hopefully not "condom broke")?

They don't have to wear masks when they eat. Duh. But they sit inside closer than they should be.

Oh, and the A/C was broken yesterday in our brand-new elementary school.

To say I'm frightened and pissed and angry and sad is an understatement.

So in that light, here's your "student COVID" edition of the Morning Sixpack.

And don't forget to Buy me a beer. I need it to CALM TF DOWN.

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Pediatric cases surge in U.S. as students head back to school

It’s back-to-school week for many families in the United States — just as coronavirus cases surge among children and teens. Weekly pediatric coronavirus cases surpassed 250,000for the first time since the start of the pandemic,according to the most recent data published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Its data shows that more than a quarter of weekly reported coronavirus cases in the United States were among children for the week ending Sept. 2. And while most pediatric cases are not severe, nearly 2,400 children were hospitalized nationwide with covid-19 in the seven days ending Tuesday — more than ever before, according to data tracked by The Washington Post.

Covid cases in children dipped early in the summer but quickly rose again, both with the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant and because coronavirus vaccines are not authorized for children under 12. Half of children age 12 to 15 have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while that number climbs to 58 percent for 16- and 17-year-olds.

With the return to schools, experts fear the situation could worsen as battles over mask and vaccine mandates rage, although Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that is not inevitable. “We’ve got to get the school system masked in addition to surrounding the children with vaccinated people,” he told CNN on Tuesday. “That’s the solution.”

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Get the rest here.

Make it a great day!

Bill

🍺 PS - Buy me a beer because I need to calm TF down.