Table 1 Advocacy activities on behalf of children and cautious school opening
Activity Year Month | Webinar/Conference | Position papers publicly released and letters to policy makers | Meetings with government officials |
|---|---|---|---|
2020 April | “Towards reopening kindergartens and elementary schools: A narrative review of COVID-19 infection, morbidity, and transmission in children” Communication of main findings from narrative review to the MOH* | MOF on return of children to schools | |
May | Webinar: “Age in the age of corona” | Response to the Bnei Brak study to the Gertner Institute and MOH International comparison of schools return* | Head of Public Health Services, MOH |
June | Recommendations for management of the educational system during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic—sent to MOH, MOE, MOF* | Director General of the MOH | |
July | Children and COVID, Nepal Pediatrician Association | Recommendations for safe return to school in the upcoming year – sent to the COVID project manager and MOE* | |
August | Jewish Medical Society, UK Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel | Concerns on the plan to open the school year – addressed to the COVID project manager and the Head of the Knesset COVID Committee Recommendation not to reopen schools in areas of high community transmission addressed to COVID project manager, Heads of the Knesset COVID and Education Committees and MOE (recommendation accepted by government) | Director General of the MOH, and request for data regarding COVID-19 in children (granted) Education Minister on safe school opening and importance of maintaining “capsules” and small class sizes Chairwoman of Parliament’s COVID-19 Committee National Security Committee on reopening schools |
September | Presentation to Physicians IMA International web-based conference: “School opening in the corona era—where health, education, politics and religion meet" https://huji.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=30b0d377-0759-43d8-8168-ad6600684ab8 | The National Center for Information and Knowledge on COVID-19 | |
October | Presentation to physicians IMA Hospital Pediatric Rounds Jerusalem Conference, Israel Association of Family Physicians | Press release and detailed peer review of the MOH report on COVID-19 in children* Response to MOH serology survey* Position paper to return children up to age 10 to in-class schooling* | Presentation in the Parliament’s Education Committee and the COVID-19 committee Head of Public Health services, MOH Jerusalem Municipality COVID-19 education headquarters |
November | Organization of Presidents of Teachers Colleges, Israel | Head of MOH Epidemiology Department Head of Maternal and Child health, MOH MOH COVID-19 project coordinator MOH and Minister of Science and Technology (thereafter two group members, OM and RCM, on advisory group to MOE) Jerusalem Municipality COVID-19 education headquarters The COVID-19 Minister Cabinet | |
December | Advisory Group to MOE | ||
2021 January | Jerusalem Conference, Israel Association of Family Physicians | School reopening after the third wave* | MOH COVID-19 project coordinator |
February | Open letter calling for sustainable program for in-class education addressed to Prime Minister, alternate Prime Minister and ministers of Health, Education and Finance* | ||
March | International web-based conference: “SARS-CoV2, children and school closures, one year later—Estimating the risks and moving forward to sustainable solutions” https://huji.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=1dd92a77-deb0-42a8-9158-ad660067f845 |