The American Academy of Pediatricians said children should return to school this fall. The Academy published new guidance yesterday on school re-openings. It said the Covid-19 virus behaves differently in children and are less likely to spread infection. The Academy stated on its website:
the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school. The importance of inperson learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020. Lengthy time away from school and associated interruption of supportive services often results in social isolation, making it difficult for schools to identify and address important learning deficits as well as child and adolescent physical or sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicidal ideation. This, in turn, places children and adolescents at considerable risk of morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. Beyond the educational impact and social impact of school closures, there has been substantial impact on food security and physical activity for children and families....
Policy makers must also consider the mounting evidence regarding COVID-19 in children and adolescents, including the role they may play in transmission of the infection. SARS-CoV-2 appears to behave differently in children and adolescents than other common respiratory viruses, such as influenza, on which much of the current guidance regarding school closures is based. Although children and adolescents play a major role in amplifying influenza outbreaks, to date, this does not appear to be the case with SARS-CoV-2. Although many questions remain, the preponderance of evidence indicates that children and adolescents are less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, children may be less likely to become infected and to spread infection. Policies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within schools must be balanced with the known harms to children, adolescents, families, and the community by keeping children at home.
In many school settings, 6 feet between students is not feasible without limiting the number of students. Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space, particularly if students are wearing face coverings and are asymptomatic. Schools should weigh the benefits of strict adherence to a 6-feet spacing rule between students with the potential downside if remote learning is the only alternative. Strict adherence to a specific size of student groups (eg, 10 per classroom, 15 per classroom, etc) should be discouraged in favor of other risk mitigation strategies. Given what is known about transmission dynamics, adults and adult staff within schools should attempt to maintain a distance of 6 feet from other persons as much as possible, particularly around other adult staff....
The Academy published additional guidelines on its website. School guidelines.
Such guidance follows what infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm recommended a few months ago. Earlier post.
JJ reported on June 5:
Perhaps it's time to look at the actual facts where Covid-19 and children are concerned. A debate rages whether to reopen the schools. Believe it or not, children brush off the virus. No children have died of Covid-19 in Mississippi. Other state report similar results. There have been only 967 cases of children under the age of 18, a staggering 6% of all cases in Mississippi. Only 27 children have been hospitalized, l% of all Covid-19 hospitalizations.
The June 28 report stated only 28 children have been hospitalized and no children have died because of the virus in Mississippi.
32 comments:
Let's not forget that it's not only students who will be at risk if schools go back to normal in the fall. Teachers, many of whom have risk factors or live with those who do, will be at increased risk of serious illness, as will the families of students. Just because the virus hits children more lightly doesn't mean they are not asymptomatic carriers who will put many more people at risk. And anyone who has ever been around elementary and junior high students knows they are walking germ factories who do not part attention to basic hygiene in the best of times, much less in the middle of a pandemic. All of this must be considered when deciding on whether to return to in-person classes, not just the chance that the children will become seriously ill.
I doubt there's anybody who does not think in-person learning is a worthy objective. Why do they feel a need to use that obvious fact as a springboard for their thesis?
I can tell you this much... as a physician we aren't getting heard by media. Maybe locally at best in small segments. I believe to open the schools is a must. Children are virtually at 0 risk on health complications and little chance of spreading the virus giving the small viral load. The wave we see now are largely younger demographics and low risk groups. I'm on next door fondren and I'm reminded daily how little general population actually knows about medicine. Yet claiming science! People the reality is this. Wash hands never touch your eyes until you washed hands. This is the best way to reduce risk.
Amazing that this is just the first "official" call for this. We've known that children are not at risk for months.
FACT- children are more at risk of dying from the flu than COVID-19.
Open the damn schools.
It sounds like they are also advocating the children wear face masks all day. Better start making trillions of those suckers.
@ 1:31
Donna Ladd is that You?
Your a complete idiot. It's more than obvious you have little knowledge on respiratory virus and the spreading of such. The point of the lockdown were only to not swell the hospitals... there is no other reason to lockdown. It was never intended to stop the spread of virus. Only to not swell hospitals. Remember that. It was never intended to be a preventitatve.
QAnon warned us about the elites trafficking our children. They now have more ability to take our children under the guise of Covid-19 prevention. Don't let them tske your children.
Beware.
#WWG1WGA
If only kids could teach themselves.
Friends... the AAP is concerned with the risk to kids. Not with the adults who teach, feed, and bus them.
@711-who cares if the teachers get sick and die or if kiddies take covid home to gramma
The elites are starving for adrenachrome and child plasma. They haven't had access to healthy children in months. Yes of course they want your little ones back in their brainwash centers.
Do school children include those over the age of 18 in our high schools?
Do these pediatricians advocate staffing the cafeterias and offices with 6-13 year olds?
Since children no longer have to take a driving test to be licensed, will fifteen year olds be driving the buses?
Will teachers be standing in plastic boxes?
How many parents want to take that chance. Let’s be honest. We’re looking at the distant leading
how many students today are raised by grandma? little jimmy or susie may be fine but betty might get it from them.
how easy is it to stream a classroom via zoom? not.
choice. freedom. have both options.
kids can walk or be driven to school and yes they can bring their own meals.
The "elites" want your child's plasma? Their going to traffic your children? Sweet jesus.
What? Do not mock the Q. It is not wise to mock him.
Will buses be running all day long with augmented school schedules? Heard one driver in Canton saying 1 kid per every other seat. That will make for buses being on the road the entire day, which could raise the wreck numbers, and will require extended school days so the kids get equal time in school. I say load the little ones on and go for it.
Schools should be able to open to in-person learning in the fall as long as adequate measures are taken to control any disease spread. No, it won't be perfect, but that also isn't an excuse to do nothing.
Keep the kids in one classroom and let the teachers switch position if needed. Ensure teachers are able to maintain distance from the students. Bring lunch to the kids in the classroom instead of herding them into the cafeteria. Students should wear a mask during the day. Postpone extracurricular activities and competitive sports for at least the first semester. Not much we can do about kids on the buses.
The priority has to be about learning and ensuring the kids don't fall behind intellectually.
"The children should wear masks." This is ridiculous. It will not happen if mandated. The schools should open and function normally.
The burden will be on schools to protect the vulnerable. And that means older teachers and administrators as well as accommodation for students who live with their grandparents. And the schools have had months now to plan on that so let's see what they are planning.
8:48 - Wake up Rumplestiltskin....none of that is reality.
Gramma lives in the guest house. Stream a class to the outskirts of West Flora and highway 16 east where people might not even have running water? Kids walk to school? You gotta be shittin' us.
The bus issue is one that has me worried. Under ideal circumstances it is almost impossible to maintain control on the busses. All bus riders wearing masks and maintaining social distancing? Yea, sure! Most busses make multiple runs daily, carrying kids from pre-K to 12th graders. Are busses going to be disinfected between each run? Will there be "monitors" on every bus to make sure the rules are followed? I doubt it. How about the bus drivers themselves? Many of them are older or retired people working hard to supplement their income. The last thing they need is to be exposed to Cover-19.
Go back to school. Teachers should wear mask. Have loads and loads of hand sanitizer. Keep soap in the bathrooms. Encourage students to wash hands. It’s going to get bad and more people are going to die. Shutting down schools is not answer.
11:31 -- You say teachers should wear a mask. Remember that wearing a mask protects not the wearer but others. A teacher wearing a mask when the students are not does nothing to protect the teacher.
Let's just have Covid Parties like one writer spoke of. Get the infected and antibody counts up. Largely a survivable illness and I have more concern about other things out there. By the way. what if someone tests positive but has been asymptomatic. You'd have no way of knowing when he/she became infected wouldn't you.
12:05 Nothing is stopping you and your friends. Find an active Covid patient and sit with them for a while.
1:51, completely agree. Those who think we should build herd immunity can start by infecting themselves and their own families. Put up or shut up.
What do they know about medical care from children! I have a Medical Degree from Facebook university backed by elected scientist! Those children need to be wearing mask and maintain social distancing and we're not even sure if it's safe for them to go back to school!
Cancel all school and SPORTS of any kind. Mandate a parent stay home to watch and make sure kiddies do their on line work paying them as required and making sure their jobs are held until the sun comes back out. Also make sure every family with said kid has internet/WiFi connections. Sounds doable to me. Will make our closet people happy as well.
"Strict adherence to a specific size of student groups (eg, 10 per classroom, 15 per classroom, etc) should be discouraged in favor of other risk mitigation strategies."
We certainly don't want such low teacher to student ratios - our children might actually learn something with such dedicated instruction.
10 or 15 per classroom? There are not enough double-wides for sale in Yazoo City to even supply one school district.
Pediatricians need kids in school. When the kids stay at home the pediatricians aren't needed and income suffers.
There is a risk to children, but it is lower than the risk for all adult populations. School administrators should be able to work with public health officials to develop an acceptable plan to resume in-class instruction, even if some instruction is remote. There is no perfect answer, but we need to educate our children and free up their parents to work.
Can you imagine being a student, attempting to understand a teacher who is wearing a mask? Or a teacher attempting to understand students who are asking questions?
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