As debate continues over whether children should return to school this fall, the White House coronavirus workforce coordinator says “it is still an open question” how much the disease spreads to children under 10 .
“We know that children under 18 are less sick, but there are some who suffer terrible consequences if they have underlying conditions,” Dr. Deborah Birx told Savannah Guthrie on Friday TODAY. “What I can’t say for sure despite the South Korean study is whether children under the age of 10 in the United States do not transmit the virus in the same way as children over the age of 10.”
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“I think it is still an open question that needs to be studied in the United States. We certainly know from other studies that children under the age of 10 become infected, it is unclear how quickly they spread the virus.”
In the large study in South Korea that Birx referenced, it was found that children under the age of 10 transmit the virus less than adults, and those between the ages of 10 and 19 transmit it as much as adults. However, the study indicated that children under the age of 10 transmit the virus, so the risk is not zero.
The study analyzed reports from 5,706 people reporting symptoms of COVID-19 between January 20 and March 27 and the 59,073 contacts identified by following up on these initial “index patients.”
A 2,000-student district in Alcoa, Tennessee, has already resumed classes in person one day a week with precautions such as daily temperature controls, tiered attendance, smaller classes, and the use of masks for students and teachers.
Birx’s comments also came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines Thursday to reopen schools with an emphasis on returning to the classroom. President Donald Trump has also pushed for a full return to in-person learning, threatening to cut funds for schools that do not reopen their classrooms.
Trump said Wednesday he would be “comfortable” sending his 14-year-old son and school-age grandchildren to school this fall, saying the children “have a very strong immune system.”
He again spoke about his stance on a full reopening at a briefing on Thursday.
“I hope that local leaders put the health and well-being of their students first and make the right choice for parents, teachers, and not make political decisions. This is very, very important,” Trump said.
Birx emphasized that school districts use the new CDC guidelines to discuss the steps they must take to reopen.
“Knowledge is power, and I think that’s why it was so important that the president yesterday had the map behind him showing where the latest cases are,” Birx said. “Those were the cases in the last seven to 14 days really to inform the public that there are areas in the United States where cases are increasing rapidly and continue to increase.”
“And in those cases and with the new CDC guidelines to give parents, school administrators, teachers and county supervisors really an understanding of where they are in the epidemic and what precautions they should take.”
Two of California’s largest school districts have already announced that classes will be online-only in San Diego and Los Angeles in the fall. New York City has announced hybrid models that combine a few days a week of in-person learning with online instruction, while Florida’s largest teachers union has filed a lawsuit against the state over the government’s reopening order.
Birx emphasized surveillance across the country by adhering to the use of masks, social distancing, and hand washing to curb the spread of the virus. Trump tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask this week after months of downplaying the covers on his face.
“This is a signal to the American people that we have to change our behavior now before this virus returns completely north,” he said.
