While some parents may worry about sending their kids back to school, as a parent and doctor specializing in pediatric intensive care, I know with the right protocols, the risk is very small.
The available evidence shows that kids are at little personal risk from COVID infection. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reveals that SARS-CoV-2 infection is rare in healthy toddlers and school-age children. Additionally, children in these age groups are far more likely to die from the flu or pneumonia than COVID-19.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics, the largest organization representing pediatricians, released a statement strongly urging that any policy “should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
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With proper safety protocols and reduced risk from COVID, schoolchildren can get back where they belong: In the classroom.
Read the full op-ed on The Columbus Dispatch by Nicole M. Johnson, M.D., a pediatric critical care physician practicing in Ohio and a partner at the Job Creators Network Foundation.