A16 EZ SU THEWASHINGTONPOST.TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 22 , 2022
ninjagym class,but the omicron
surgepromptedSchroederpull
her out withhopesshe can join
in March instead.
Four-year-old Edward will
startswimclassesonlyafter he
is vaccinated. He qualifies for
special-education services, in-
cluding one-on-one sessions
with aspeech therapistwho
wearsatransparentmaskwhile
he goes without.Whenthereare
morechildrenin the group,they
all maskup, and Schroeder won-
ders whether thatisslowing
Edward’s progress.
Andtheyalso gotvaccinated.
Schroederhas arranged for Ed-
wardto gethis shoton his 5th
birthdayinMarch.
Now, whataboutthe twins?
Schroederwas up late doinga
sleepstudy withone of themat
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Medical Center when news
brokethatavaccine mightbe
availableby late Februaryfor
childrenyounger than5.
She called Craig the next
morning.“There have beenso
manychanges,it’snot going to
happen,”she foundherselfsay-
ing,through tears.“Don’t get
yourhopesup.”
Nowthatthose hopes have
beendashed,Schroederhas no
tears to shedas she wonders
how the regulatoryprocess
couldleave her withsuchwhip-
lash.
“I have faithin the process
abstractly,but I’mdisappoint-
ed,”Schroedersaid,even as she
resignsherselfto supporting the
twins comewhatmay:“Alot of
peoplehave worked hardto keep
themalive.We’renot going to
giveup now.”YeseniaArgueta
D.C.|Children:Ages14, 6
and 2
Theomicronvariantupended
Argueta’salready challenging
routine,sharpeningthe anxiety
thathas gnawedat her fromthe
beginning of the pandemic.
Covid notificationspingregular-
ly on her phone—newsofthe
delayfor the under-5 vaccine
andthe end of acityindoor
mask and vaccinemandate.
Thesinglemotherrelieson a
nonprofit daycare in D.C.tolook
after her2-year-oldson,Ilias,
duringthe daywhile she works
at Howard UniversityHospital.
But after ayear withno cases,
JubileeJumpstartwas hit by the
virus in mid-December.Like
dominoes,seven childrenand
eightstaffmemberscamedown
withthe coronavirus,prompting
closures that, combined with
one snowdayand an icymorn-
ing,meantIliashadto be kept
homefor an entiremonth.
Argueta, 34, was left withone
optionif she was to keep her job
and providefor Iliasand her two
olderchildren.
“Mymom is the onlypersonI
had to watch himuntilIgot out
at 4,”Argueta said,describing
swiftafternoonhandoffs to give
her 53-year-old mother afew
hours’restbefore she,in turn,
headed to Howard Hospital,
whereshe worksnights.
“It’shorrible,but it’s notthe
daycare’s fault,”Argueta said.
“With the little onesnot vacci-
nated,anylittle symptomand
they’vegot to quarantine.It’s a
lot.”
As soon as Ilias returnedto
daycare, his 6-year-oldbrother
wassenthomefromschoolto
quarantine,and Argueta’smoth-
er was pressed into service
again.
“It’slikeanever-endingcy-
cle,”Argueta said.“This covid
stuffistakingtoo longfor me.”him less flexibilitythanwith
remote work.
“Basically,life is returningto
normalfor everyoneexceptfor
parentsof kidsunder5,”hesaid.Elizabeth Schroeder
Cincinnati|Children:Ages
and4, and2-year-oldtwins
Schroederreceivedthe news
thatavaccinewould not be
immediately available with a
sense of numbness. She had
never allowedherself to fully
believe theywould soonend her
children’s prolonged quaran-
tine.
Schroedernever expected
quarantineto becomeaway of
life. In April2019, she gave birth
to twins just26weeksintoher
pregnancy. They neededrespira-
torysupportand wereseques-
tered to protecttheir fragile
lungs,firstinthe neonatal inten-
sive careunitand thenat home,
until March 2020, when
Schroeder and her husband
planned athank-you celebration
for the nursesandthe neigh-
bors.
Covid-19 was thatmonth’s
uninvitedguest, closingdoors
the familyhadhopedto throw
open.
Herhusband,Craig,anengi-
neer,has worked remotelyever
since.Schroedervisitsthe office
of the treecompanyshe works
for onlywhenshe can be alone
there.With each newhurdle,
theyreevaluated the opportuni-
ties for theirolderchildrenand
theirpotentialcosts.
“Webalance the risks and
needs for the entire family,”
Schroedersaid.“It’sone of the
biggerstruggles.”
Seven-year-old Emma is in
school,with its upgraded air
filtration system and careful
spacing.She wassettostarta“I wouldn’t sayI’m necessarily
in arush,”she said.BenjaminHuffman
PleasantHill,Calif.|Chil-
dren:Ages 3and 1
Twoyearsintothe pandemic,
Huffman said he feels worse
thanhe did at the start, livingin
“absolutechaos”tryingto pro-
tecthis 1- and3-year-oldsons
fromthe virus.
“I never knowif I’mgoingto
be at homeon agivenday, at
workon agivenday, takinga
childto the hospitalon agiven
day, dealingwithaschoolclo-
sureon agivenday,”hesaid.
“And thensometimesIfind out
halfwaythrough the daythatit’s
going to be different than I
thoughtit wouldbe.”
Huffman,37,atherapistfor
ContraCosta County, saidthat
whilehis children’s daycare is
takingcovid-19 moreseriously—
which he commends —else-
whereit seemsto be the oppo-
site.Local restrictionsare being
lifted, and Huffmansaidhe has
to returnto the office, givingsomething getting dangled in
front of us and then getting
ripped away,” said Benjamin
Huffmanof PleasantHill, Calif.,
whohastwochildren younger
than5.
About 1.9million children
younger than5havecontracted
the coronavirus, according to
the Centersfor DiseaseControl
andPrevention. Theyoungest
continueto be sparedcovid-19’s
worstscourges. Out of more
than900,000deaths nationwide
sincethe pandemicbegan, 307
have beenamongchildrenages
4and younger.
Thelow risksfromthe dis-
ease,alongwithvaccinehesitan-
cy,haveleftsomeparentsun-
willingto immunizeyoungchil-
dren,even as theyare repeatedly
inconvenienced by day-care
closingsandotherrestrictions.
Recentpollingshowsthatonly
in 10 parentsof childrenyoung-
er than5say theywould get
their childrenthe shotsright
away,and aquarter saythey
would“definitelynot”vaccinate
theiryoungchildren.
Othersare readyto endre-
strictions.YelenaRodriguez,a
licensedspeechtherapistinLos
Angeles withchildrenages 3and
6, worriesaboutthe impactof
prolonged restrictionson chil-
dren’s social, emotional and
speech development.There has
beenno in-person storytime at
the library, no visitsto the infant
andtoddlerplaygroup sheen-
joyedwithher olderchild.
“Weneed to help our kids
returnto anormalchildhood,”
saidRodriguez,35, whoalong
withher husbandis vaccinated
andboosted. Shehas notyet
vaccinated her 6-year-old.
Formany, the possibilitythat
avaccine couldoffer theirfami-
lies safety and givethemcontrol
overtheirerratic livesis almost
too muchto hopefor.
“‘Pivot’ is the wordof the past
twoyears,”said Elizabeth
Schroeder,34, of Cincinnati, de-
scribing the constant shifts
neededto keep up withchang-
ing risksand rules.“We’ve been
livingthis life for so long,and it’s
exhausting.”
CandiceOcampo
Richmond|Child:Age 2
Ocampo,34, said her son’s day
carehad beennotifyingparents
of potentialcoronavirusexpo-
sures several times per week
duringthe omicronwave. And
whenthe exposuresoccurredin
her son’s classroom,thatmeant
she andherhusband —who
bothworkin healthcare—had
to juggle theirworkschedulesto
makesure someonewas at home
withhim.
Ocampo,anursepractitioner,
said her employer has been
understanding.But “especially
lately withjustseeinghowfre-
quent theexposures are,”she
said,“there’s alot of anxiety and
worry” abouthavingtocall out
sickfromworkand,of course,
abouther son’s health.
To decreasetheirson’s expo-
sureto the virus,Ocamposaid,
she and her husband,whoworks
nightsas anurse,have started
takingadvantageoftheir differ-
ent workschedulesto keep the
toddlerat home.As theywait on
avaccinefor theirson,theynow
useday care onlywhen their
workhoursoverlap.
At thispoint,Ocampo said,
she has beenwaitingtwoyears
and wantsregulators to take
theirtimeevaluating the vac-
cine’s safety and efficacyfor
children.
VIRUSFROMA
Vaccine now seeming like adistant hope for some parents
PHOTOSBY MEGANJELINGERFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST0200k400k600k800k1m1.2m7-dayavg.Feb. 29,2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 21,02k4k7-day avg.Feb. 29,2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 21, 202201m2m3m4m5m7-dayavg.Feb. 29,2020 Jan. 2021 Feb. 21, 2022As of 8p.m. Monday78,487,549,939,934,82,1,404,TotalDEATHSTotalVACCINE DOSESADMINISTEREDNewcoronaviruscases,deaths and
vaccinedosesin the U.S.,bydayTotalCASES7-dayaverage7-dayaverage7-dayaverageABOVE: ElizabethSchroeder
withherchildreninCincinnati.
“I have faithintheprocess
abstractly, butI’m
disappointed,” Schroeder said
of thedelaysinavaccinefor
younger kids.LEFT: CraigSchroeder with
George,oneof thecouple’s
2-year-oldtwin sons.(202)919-9209 (301)778-4222 (703)650-