Children are not immune to COVID-19, experts now reiterate.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, from the University of Minnesota Infectious Disease Research and Policy Center, was previously in favor of sending children back to school, claiming that they did not have to worry so much about the virus, according to the KTRK -13.
But a new variant identified in the UK makes Osterholm change course, and he is not the only infectious disease specialist concerned.
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“We have to think of variant B.1.1.7 as almost a new virus,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, according to Christina Maxouris of CBS46. “It’s acting differently than anything we’ve seen before, in terms of transferability, in terms of affecting young people, so we have to take this very seriously.”
According to Osterholm, children are playing an important role in any area where the variant is emerging. This, he said, is the reason why “all the things we had planned about children in schools with this virus are no longer applicable”, according to KTRK.
While each of the approved vaccines should help fight against the “most contagious” variant B.1.1.7, which is said to cause the most serious and possibly even deadly diseases – there is simply not enough time, according to experts.
“What we are seeing are pockets of infection across the country, particularly in younger people who have not been vaccinated, and also in school children,” said former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb of according to the KTRK.
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Hotez encouraged Americans to take “another four to six weeks”, according to KTRK, adding that he has high hopes that we will be in a much better place in the summer.
In the meantime, Americans – especially those who remain unvaccinated – must double the security measures put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes the use of facial coverings, social distance and avoiding crowds when possible.
For elementary and high school students, a minimum of three feet of social distance is recommended.