Gov Abbott Keeps Flip-Flopping: He Floats The Idea Kids Could Do School At Home.

According to a report on ABC13.com, the Governor is now thinking about the idea of having kids stay home this fall. This would be the most ridiculous idea since COVID started. The 0-24 years old age group is the least affected of all the population. Do you know how many of these kids die every single week in the USA?? Around 1,000 of them die weekly from all causes. Accident/trauma is the leading cause. At the peak of the pandemic, the highest number of mortality for this group was 27 deaths for one week. That is 2.7% of all 0-24 years old deaths for that week of April 11th, 2020. The average was more around 1.5% of all deaths for April-May. The flu has more chance to kill your kids even with a vaccine. During the 2018-2019 flu season, the CDC reports 477 deaths for the 0-17 age group in the USA. So far for COVID, less than 200 deaths are reported for, not the 0-17 group, but the 0-24 group. Look at the mortality rates for the graph below. Have we ever shut down the economy for that??

We have personally sent one of our kids to a Daycare/summer camp this summer because she needed social interactions. We usually keep our kids home in the summer but after being home for almost 3 months we felt she needed to go somewhere and meet new people. We have not felt unsafe sending her there regarding the virus and she has not been sick so far. We have not heard anybody being sick in that place. In a daycare, kids don’t normally social distance as most don’t understand.

The American Academics of Pediatrics is recommending students return to school as soon as possible. Here is a quote: “The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020,” the group representing 67,000 pediatricians wrote. “Lengthy time away from school and associated interruption of supportive services often result 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.” The most affected kids will be the ones from poor neighborhoods where parents might not be able to support their child and offer them the support needed. We have seen this spring with all the protests, riots, and looting several teenagers participating. Without school support, they have more time to hang out with the wrong people.

Minorities will be the most affected if schools don’t reopen: “Beyond supporting the educational development of children and adolescents, schools play a critical role in addressing racial and social inequity,” the guidance reads. “As such, it is critical to reflect on the differential impact SARS-CoV-2 and the associated school closures have had on different races, ethnic and vulnerable populations.” https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-06-29/pediatric-group-calls-for-children-to-return-to-schools-despite-coronavirus

Several countries have sent their kids back to school already and have yet to hear reports of outbreaks. If schools don’t restart this fall, I would expect many parents to withdraw their kids from school and organize school coop. The media and spineless politicians are to blame for spreading fear in the population. If they would take the time to really explain the data to calm people down we would not be where we are. Unfortunately, some news outlets decided to make this pandemic political instead of strictly a medical issue. Kids are paying the price and many are suffering from depression. Not going back to school is acknowledging masks are not working.