We’ve all done it. Whether it be due to parental pressure to maintain perfect attendance or not wanting to miss any work, going to school while feeling sick is something that many students have done at least once in their lives. With COVID-19 integrating its way into our everyday lives, people’s concern for the severity of the common flu has gone down significantly. Many students with flu-like-symptoms go to school without batting an eye because they tested negative for COVID-19, facilitating the spread of the flu to fellow students and school staff members.
Recently, Patrick Henry High school, located in San Diego, reported that over a thousand students were out due to flu-like symptoms, according to Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS8). A large amount of the student population caught the flu after the school’s homecoming dance. While the students did not have COVID-19, they still carried easily transmittable illnesses, leading to a large learning loss due to the number of absentees.The high school has a student population of around 2,600, which is similar to MHS’s student population of around 3,000 students.
With a student population as big as ours, any sickness can spread easily. With the recent focus on COVID, people have stopped focusing on the recurring issue of flu season and the common flu in general. This change has caused many students to think going to school with symptoms is okay as long as they do not have COVID.
While staying at home sounds like the best solution, every high school student knows what happens when they miss a couple of days of school: making up tests and quizzes, missing deadlines, and turning in late assignments. Getting the flu can cause you to miss around five to seven days of school, which is a lot of work to make up. However, by resting at home instead of going to school and causing more damage to your body, you can allow yourself to recover faster. Both proper rest during the day and sleep at night are essential in fighting off illnesses as they both provide your body with more antibodies and chemicals to strengthen your immune system and fight the virus, according to “Why Rest is Important When You Have the Flu” by primamedicine.com. When you stay at home and rest, you allow your body to use these chemicals to fight off the virus instead of using them in your day-to-day classes.
Students should stay home if they are feeling any symptoms of the flu. It is a common courtesy to students and staff members to stay at home, resting and recovering, rather than going to school while enduring the extra stress of headaches and the sniffles. While going to school when sick may allow you not to fall behind on your work, it is still a selfish decision that not only puts your own health at risk, but also the health and well-being of your classmates and teachers.