More than 97,000 children tested postive for Covid-19 in the final two weeks of July, according to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association. (Photo: Justin Paget, Getty Images)
'Impossible to Stay Quiet': With Nearly 100,000 Kids Infected by Covid-19 in Just Two Weeks, Medical Experts Warn Against Hasty Return to School
"Rushing to reopen our schools will directly jeopardize the lives of our students and educators, and that is a risk we cannot take," said Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
An estimated 338,000 children in the United States have been infected with Covid-19, and 97,000 of those were reported in the final two weeks of July, according to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
School districts across the country are considering how to safely reopen amid climbing Covid-19 cases nationwide, and medical experts are increasingly worried about the consequences of in-person school openings.
"Historically, my response up to this last couple of weeks has been typically much more neutral and just trying to implore people to do the right thing, to lay the information out in front," Dr. Michael Saag, director of UAB Medicine's Division of Infectious Disease, told Yahoo! Finance last week. "Now we're seeing schools that seem to shrug their shoulders ... It's impossible to stay quiet."
Parents and educators have expressed concern over the push to reopen, and some have protested moves to put kids in physical classrooms. Schools that have resumed in-person learning are reporting rapid spreads of Covid-19 infections among students and staff, prompting digital learning alternatives.
But politicians--Democrat and Republican--continue to tie the health of the nation's economy to reopening schools, and newly released studies refute the idea floated earlier in the pandemic that children "almost immune" to getting and spreading Covid-19, but do indicate children may be at lower risk than adults. In addition, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates African American and Hispanic children who contract Covid-19 are five and eight times more likely to be hospitalized than their white counterparts.
"It has been hypothesized that Hispanic adults might be at increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection because they are overrepresented in frontline (e.g., essential and direct-service) occupations with decreased opportunities for social distancing, which might also affect children living in those households," the CDC researchers wrote.
Additionally, a report released by the journal Pediatrics showed racial and economic disparities for positive Covid-19 test rates.
"Racial/ethnic and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have less access to primary care physicians," the study's authors wrote. "In addition, referral to the testing site by clinicians may have been differentially provided, and advertisement of the testing site may not have been uniformly distributed among all potential referring clinicians. Furthermore, the testing site was available a few days per week and during the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. which may not have been convenient for all."
The United States' top infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that with proper precautions--social distancing, mask wearing, lower class sizes, etc.--schools could reopen for in-person learning.
"The primary consideration should always be the safety, the health [and] the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers and the secondary effects for spreading [to] the parents and other family members," Fauci told CNN Friday.
Many school districts in the U.S. have opted to go digital. Education Week reports that as of Aug. 6, 17 of the 20 largest school districts are choosing remote learning only as their back-to-school instructional model, affecting over four million students.
"As the parent of a school-aged daughter, I understand the gravity of this decision and the challenges posed by remote learning for our students and their families," Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), said in a press release urging officials implement digital learning in the Bay State schools. "But rushing to reopen our schools will directly jeopardize the lives of our students and educators, and that is a risk we cannot take."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
An estimated 338,000 children in the United States have been infected with Covid-19, and 97,000 of those were reported in the final two weeks of July, according to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
School districts across the country are considering how to safely reopen amid climbing Covid-19 cases nationwide, and medical experts are increasingly worried about the consequences of in-person school openings.
"Historically, my response up to this last couple of weeks has been typically much more neutral and just trying to implore people to do the right thing, to lay the information out in front," Dr. Michael Saag, director of UAB Medicine's Division of Infectious Disease, told Yahoo! Finance last week. "Now we're seeing schools that seem to shrug their shoulders ... It's impossible to stay quiet."
Parents and educators have expressed concern over the push to reopen, and some have protested moves to put kids in physical classrooms. Schools that have resumed in-person learning are reporting rapid spreads of Covid-19 infections among students and staff, prompting digital learning alternatives.
But politicians--Democrat and Republican--continue to tie the health of the nation's economy to reopening schools, and newly released studies refute the idea floated earlier in the pandemic that children "almost immune" to getting and spreading Covid-19, but do indicate children may be at lower risk than adults. In addition, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates African American and Hispanic children who contract Covid-19 are five and eight times more likely to be hospitalized than their white counterparts.
"It has been hypothesized that Hispanic adults might be at increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection because they are overrepresented in frontline (e.g., essential and direct-service) occupations with decreased opportunities for social distancing, which might also affect children living in those households," the CDC researchers wrote.
Additionally, a report released by the journal Pediatrics showed racial and economic disparities for positive Covid-19 test rates.
"Racial/ethnic and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have less access to primary care physicians," the study's authors wrote. "In addition, referral to the testing site by clinicians may have been differentially provided, and advertisement of the testing site may not have been uniformly distributed among all potential referring clinicians. Furthermore, the testing site was available a few days per week and during the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. which may not have been convenient for all."
The United States' top infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that with proper precautions--social distancing, mask wearing, lower class sizes, etc.--schools could reopen for in-person learning.
"The primary consideration should always be the safety, the health [and] the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers and the secondary effects for spreading [to] the parents and other family members," Fauci told CNN Friday.
Many school districts in the U.S. have opted to go digital. Education Week reports that as of Aug. 6, 17 of the 20 largest school districts are choosing remote learning only as their back-to-school instructional model, affecting over four million students.
"As the parent of a school-aged daughter, I understand the gravity of this decision and the challenges posed by remote learning for our students and their families," Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), said in a press release urging officials implement digital learning in the Bay State schools. "But rushing to reopen our schools will directly jeopardize the lives of our students and educators, and that is a risk we cannot take."
An estimated 338,000 children in the United States have been infected with Covid-19, and 97,000 of those were reported in the final two weeks of July, according to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
School districts across the country are considering how to safely reopen amid climbing Covid-19 cases nationwide, and medical experts are increasingly worried about the consequences of in-person school openings.
"Historically, my response up to this last couple of weeks has been typically much more neutral and just trying to implore people to do the right thing, to lay the information out in front," Dr. Michael Saag, director of UAB Medicine's Division of Infectious Disease, told Yahoo! Finance last week. "Now we're seeing schools that seem to shrug their shoulders ... It's impossible to stay quiet."
Parents and educators have expressed concern over the push to reopen, and some have protested moves to put kids in physical classrooms. Schools that have resumed in-person learning are reporting rapid spreads of Covid-19 infections among students and staff, prompting digital learning alternatives.
But politicians--Democrat and Republican--continue to tie the health of the nation's economy to reopening schools, and newly released studies refute the idea floated earlier in the pandemic that children "almost immune" to getting and spreading Covid-19, but do indicate children may be at lower risk than adults. In addition, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates African American and Hispanic children who contract Covid-19 are five and eight times more likely to be hospitalized than their white counterparts.
"It has been hypothesized that Hispanic adults might be at increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection because they are overrepresented in frontline (e.g., essential and direct-service) occupations with decreased opportunities for social distancing, which might also affect children living in those households," the CDC researchers wrote.
Additionally, a report released by the journal Pediatrics showed racial and economic disparities for positive Covid-19 test rates.
"Racial/ethnic and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have less access to primary care physicians," the study's authors wrote. "In addition, referral to the testing site by clinicians may have been differentially provided, and advertisement of the testing site may not have been uniformly distributed among all potential referring clinicians. Furthermore, the testing site was available a few days per week and during the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. which may not have been convenient for all."
The United States' top infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that with proper precautions--social distancing, mask wearing, lower class sizes, etc.--schools could reopen for in-person learning.
"The primary consideration should always be the safety, the health [and] the welfare of the children, as well as the teachers and the secondary effects for spreading [to] the parents and other family members," Fauci told CNN Friday.
Many school districts in the U.S. have opted to go digital. Education Week reports that as of Aug. 6, 17 of the 20 largest school districts are choosing remote learning only as their back-to-school instructional model, affecting over four million students.
"As the parent of a school-aged daughter, I understand the gravity of this decision and the challenges posed by remote learning for our students and their families," Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), said in a press release urging officials implement digital learning in the Bay State schools. "But rushing to reopen our schools will directly jeopardize the lives of our students and educators, and that is a risk we cannot take."