It is crazy to think that next month it will be a whole year since the pandemic impacted the Club and our community. So much has changed in that time but we also have a long way to go before life is normal again.
However, the Club is trying to do everything we can to get to normal as quickly as possible. One major step was getting our staff vaccinated. We were delighted when the State and El Dorado County put childcare and education in category 1B, ensuring that we were some of the first after healthcare providers to be vaccinated. We were also very lucky to have the ability to contact our County Health Department and to work with them to ensure that the Club was on their list to contact.
The County has received criticism regarding the slow roll out of vaccinations, but the reality is that demand has outweighed supply, and we can’t think them enough for the support and assistance they have given to our staff. The vast majority of our staff have chosen to be vaccinated and most have, or are about to, receive their second dose. We are grateful to our staff for recognizing that keeping our kids and families safe required them to take this step. Consistently, throughout this pandemic, our team has put kids and community before their own needs or concerns and it is a true measurement of them as individuals and as a group.
Not only will vaccinated staff provide greater protection for them and our members, but it will also ease some of the logistical problems associated with COVID. The hardest impacts on the Club has been quarantines due to exposures outside of the Club. At one point we had 50% of our staff out on quarantines due to exposures or possible exposures and that severely impacted our ability to deliver programs. The good news is that the CDC does not require vaccinated individuals to quarantine after exposure or possible exposure and this will help the Club immensely.
However, despite this extra layer of protection, it is vital that we keep up with our social distancing and PPE protocols and keep doing our part to decrease spread in our community. Masks will remain mandatory for EVERYONE until the CDC says they are no longer necessary. We will keep washing our hands, stay socially distanced and enforcing quarantine measures on unvaccinated staff and members.
Quite a few families took the opportunity of the school vacation to travel and we do still require members to stay away from Club for seven days and social isolate following a trip or attendance at a large gathering. We hope that our families will support our efforts to keep members safe and not take unnecessary risks or travel until the pandemic is no longer a threat.
