Better late than never. Perhaps because he believes Joe Biden will be inaugurated in January, Dr. Fauci is finally admitting that children do not get terribly ill from or transmit COVID-19 in any significant way. Weird, since Switzerland figured this out in April. Detailed genetic studies in Iceland showed that children were not passing the virus to adults in any significant numbers in June. And German researchers asserted that children could actually act as a brake on transmission within the community.
But good old “follow the science” Fauci was wringing his hands and hedging his bets in the media and during congressional testimony. Most notably, he got into a heated exchange with Senator Rand Paul, who is also a doctor.
Senator Paul correctly noted Sweden’s experience, which never closed their primary schools and did not see a spike in childhood illness. Germany also reopened schools in July with no significant issues. Since the summer, most industrialized countries have reopened schools, and many do not enforce distancing or mask-wearing. But this did not impress Dr. Fauci.
Paul noted the devastating effects of school closures, especially on disadvantaged children. It is only in the next decade that we will understand the impact of all the missed support services on these children. However, we do know many are not logging in for digital learning. Failure rates have also gone up where children only engage in distance learning.
Doctors and other agencies note increases in child abuse, depression, and other mental health issues in children. There has also been an uptick in self-harm and suicidal ideation. This, over a respiratory virus with an infection fatality rate (IFR) of 0.13%, according to the WHO, which is very stratified by age and tends to affect the very elderly. – READ MORE
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