PHILADELPHIA — Carla Mitchell's 6-year-old daughter was home sick from school this week — again.
The first-grader attends Gladwyne Elementary in the Lower Merion School District (LMSD), which has seen an unusually high numbers of kids out sick with a potpourri of nasty viruses: flu, common colds, COVID-19, and upper respiratory viruses, like respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Things got so bad at the nearby middle school earlier this month that school administrators contacted local health officials for advice after noticing "a high number" of students out sick at Black Rock Middle School in Villanova, according to LMSD spokesperson Amy Buckman.