To be clear, as a mother who is sending her 4-year-old son back to preschool, I want every possible protection in place. I wish that he were vaccinated, and all his classmates and teachers too. I’d love to have twice weekly testing. It would be wonderful if the school had state-of-the-art ventilation.

That’s not reality. My son’s school, like many around the country, is trying its best, but it can’t expedite vaccines or create tests. While masks are required, I know that young kids don’t always keep them on. Yet, my husband and I decided to send our son to school, not because it’s perfectly safe — nothing is — but because of the value of in-person instruction.

What about teachers, who may not feel safe returning to work? I have a lot of sympathy for them. My mother was a longtime public school teacher in Los Angeles who battled cancer while instructing in cramped classrooms. Early on in the pandemic, I advocated for schools to be closed out of concern for teachers, school staff and their families, and I fought for teachers to be prioritized for vaccines.

But this is not 2020 or 2021. Vaccines are widely available for all who want them. Those who receive them are highly protected against severe illness from covid-19, and a booster adds additional protection.