#parent | #kids | Back-to-school has some worried due to latest COVID surge | #coronavirus | #kids. | #children | #schools

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma continue to rise due in part to the spread of the more contagious delta variant, some parents and teachers are raising concerns about students returning to classrooms later this month.

Tammy McCartney, who lives in Broken Arrow, told The Oklahoman she is worried about sending her two young children back to the classroom. Neither one is old enough to be vaccinated. Oklahoma schools are prohibited from requiring masks and vaccines.

“I feel like I’m sending my kids into the lion’s den,” she said.

Only 18% of Oklahomans age 12-17 are fully vaccinated, lagging far behind the national average of 32%, according to the Oklahoma Health Department.

The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Oklahoma on Friday topped 700 for the first time since mid-February.

But Kristen Thompson said she has minimal concerns about sending her two children back to the classroom without masks in the Deer Creek school district located north of Oklahoma City.

“We saw the emotional and mental toll a split schedule and full-time mask wearing put on our children last year, and I don’t think we can weather that storm again,” Thompson said.