When the CDC published its latest set of pandemic guidelines, many were disappointed, to say the least. The revised rules were particularly bland on the subject of reopening schools, leaving a lot of room for teacher unions to keep them closed in the distant future, or conducting virtual learning instead of going back to classrooms. What Dr. Fauci and the CDC leaders probably didn’t count on was being challenged on the basis of the science they were supposed to trust to guide them. And the challenge in question doesn’t come from an armchair quarterback either. Dr. Tara O. Henderson, Dr. Monica Gandhi, Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg and Dr. Daniel Johnson are four of the doctors who conducted one of the main pandemic studies in Wisconsin and their work was cited by the CDC. Now they have published an editorial criticizing the health agency for “misinterpreting” the data and asking that all schools be reopened for face-to-face classes. (USA today)
The recent guidance on reopening schools released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an example of fears that influence and result in misinterpretation of harmful science and policies. In the USA, 50% of schools are closed and more partially open. President Biden ran a campaign indicating that science and data would guide his policy. As we approach the anniversary of COVID’s first closure, this approach is more necessary than ever, especially when it comes to schools.
As in many states, schools in California and Illinois are being hampered by CDC guidance. The guidance does not take into account the data we have about poor disease transmission in schools. Nor, although the guidance cites the work done in all Wisconsin districts done by our group and published in MMWR, does it take these data and new analyzes of that dataset into account. Keeping schools closed or even partially closed, based on what we now know is unjustified, is harming children and has become a human rights issue.
There! This should hurt a little.
Doctors continue to attack the CDC with a flood of facts that have now been clearly established. They first note that children are the least likely to experience poor results with COVID. As of March 3, 286 children had died of COVID, compared to more than half a million adults. This is equivalent to the number of children who die from pneumonia each year. And at this point, we are losing more children to suicide than to the new coronavirus.
Then, they point out that school transmission rates are shockingly low. They cite a community in Wisconsin where the test’s positive rate has reached more than 40%. But among the nearly 5,000 students and 654 employees who participate in classroom education with only the minimum of precautions, only seven students tested positive during the study. And no teacher contracted the disease. They go on to say that no data supports the need for a social distance of almost two meters in schools, a requirement that prevents almost all schools from reopening. Doctors provide data showing that a three-foot separation is fine.
After accumulating more data from several studies, doctors proclaim that “we must act for children”. At the very least, a large number of them are receiving inadequate or, in some cases, none. But in addition to falling behind in studies, the closure of schools is affecting children mentally and emotionally. As noted above, suicide rates among children are growing at an alarming rate, largely driven by a lack of social interaction.
The reason that politicians and their servants at the CDC are being very timid about the demands to reopen schools is that they are afraid and owe the teachers’ unions. And unions do not want to go back to school until a list of demands is completed that includes things that are not required based on that data. Joe Biden and the Democrats claim to be the “science party” that will “follow” the data when working out a response to the pandemic. We will? Here are the data, straight from the researchers’ mouths.
It is time to fully reopen schools. Any other failures or delays will result in further damage and this will fall entirely on the shoulders of our elected officials, not our doctors.