Ask The Doctor Q1 2021
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Question
My husband will be completing his 3 year clinical trial of ibrutinib in September. He does work outside of the home, but is isolated from others 95% of his workday.
School will soon be starting and we have the options, for our son, of on-line learning versus physically being in the classroom. The school will follow all recommended covid-19 guidelines for daily sanitizing, wearing masks, social distancing, etc. and is in the process of installing HVAC technology to promote clean air.
From a medical viewpoint, what are the recommendations for using which school option, considering my husband’s condition?
From Dr. Koffman
Tough question! The answer will depend on your risk tolerance. Certainly at a minimum you need to follow the local guidelines to protect your husband who is quite vulnerable. Please look at our recent review of the literature on this topic: https://cllsociety.org/2020/07/covid-19-severity-and-mortality-in-chronic-lymphocytic-leukemia-cll-patients/. There is no question that online learning would be safer from the COVID-19 perspective for your family, and would be my personal choice today in California, but everywhere the risks are different. And online schooling is not ideal for many students.
Everyone will decide what’s best for the family, but personally I would not chance physically sending a child to school where we live. The risks are too high for me.
Hope that helps.
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