“These children have to go back to school,” Parson told a conservative radio presenter. “They are at the lowest risk possible. And if they get Covid-19, they will, and they will when they go to school, they will not go to hospitals. They will not have to sit in doctor’s offices. They will go to home and they will get over it. “
Well that seems simple! Except that it overlooks several important things we know about the coronavirus.
Let’s start here: Parson is right that young people (18 years and younger) tend to have no serious symptoms if they contract the coronavirus. Many are asymptomatic.
The problem is that that is not the point. Schools did not close early in most states this spring to protect children. They were closed to protect teachers, administrators, and all other adults, especially the elderly, with whom the children came into contact. Because we know that Covid-19 is highly transmissible, and that the older you are, the more danger the virus poses to you.
And we have also known for some time that asymptomatic transmission occurs. Which means that even if a child shows no signs of illness, he or she could still have Covid-19 and pass it on to other children and other adults with whom they come in contact. And then those people can pass it on to others. Much others
So far, a new study in South Korea suggests that while young children (ages 10 and under) tend to transmit the virus less than adults, those ages 10 to 19 transmit the virus in much the same way. To adults. Of the study, The New York Times wrote:
The findings suggest that as schools reopen, communities will see clusters of infection that will take root of children of all ages, several experts warned.
“‘I am afraid there has been a feeling that children simply will not become infected or will not become infected in the same way as adults and therefore are almost like a bubbling population,’ said Michael Osterholm, an expert on infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. “
Missouri has been fully reopened since mid-June (Parsons ordered the state closed in early April). At a press conference last month, Parson was asked if he believed he had any responsibility for the growing number of coronavirus cases in the state.
“I don’t know if anyone is responsible for that, nor is anyone else standing here in this hallway,” Parson said. “Do I feel guilty because we have car accidents and people die every day? No, I don’t feel guilty about that. Every person who gets into those situations, things happen like this in life.”
The seven-day average for cases in Missouri is up to 854, according to The New York Times. There were 238 cases a month ago.
Parson’s push for children to return to school, he held a press conference earlier this month, making it clear that he believed schools should reopen in the fall, with a similar effort by President Donald Trump nationwide.
“Young people have to go to school, and there are problems when you don’t go to school either,” Trump told Chris Wallace Sunday. “And there will be a financing problem because we are not going to finance it, when their schools do not open. We are not going to finance them. We are not going to give them money if they are not going to school, if they do not open.” (Federal dollars represent less than 10% of public school funds.)
As the coronavirus continues to rage across the country, the fight over whether to reopen schools becomes even more complicated (and it was already quite complicated). Over-simplifying the situation or ignoring known medical realities doesn’t help anyone on either side of the problem. Take note, Governor Parson.
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