Experts Agree: Kids are Safe From COVID

The chart above shows COVID deaths in the US by age group. Purple represents ages 50+, green represents ages 20-49, and blue represents ages 0-19.

Don’t see any blue on the chart? That’s because the percentage of COVID deaths in that age range is less than .05%.

This chart was included in a July 2nd report published on ChildrensHealthDefense.org. All reports referenced in this article were authored by H. Ealy, M. McEvoy, M. Sava, S. Gupta, D. Chong, E. Braham, C. Fieberg, D. White, and P. Anderson.

The second chart in the report details COVID cases in the US by the same age groups. Less than 7% of cases affect the 0-19 demographic, while roughly 45% of cases affect the other two demographics. Further data shows that the youngest age group accounts for just 1.1% of COVID hospitalizations in the US. 

As noted in the report, the CDC and World Health Organization knew as early as March that kids and teens were less susceptible to COVID than adults. At the time, only 2% of COVID cases affected patients younger than age 19. In the months since then, data has pushed that percentage even lower.

“The data indicates that, while our children are testing positive for COVID-19 greater than initially anticipated, our children are also not requiring hospitalization with any concerning level of frequency,” notes the report. “We are indeed reassured that the statistics confirm that a child positive for COVID-19 between the ages 0 and 19…is likely to recover from COVID-19 in the 99.9577 percentile.”

The report goes on to note that keeping kids out of school may be doing more harm than good. 

Surveys suggest that nearly 70% of parents worry COVID will leave a lasting impact on their kid’s mental health. Nearly 80% of parents with a child who has recently received mental health support worry the virus will have a lasting impact. More than 80% of parents with a child who has a preexisting mental illness say COVID has made it worse. 

Teenagers who are already struggling with the transition to adulthood are particularly at risk and could end up with life-long problems if forced to stay out of school. 

“Policy decisions for governance and education should always be weighed against the very real possibility of severe emotional stress, psychological strain, and stunted social development, created by preventing young American citizens from attending school in person, or imposing severe protective measures to limit physical contact while in attendance in school,” argues the report.

When making decisions about schooling, policymakers must consider the “anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation created by prolonged isolation and despair regarding their perception of current world events and their uncertain future.”

A second report, published on July 14th, addresses COVID on a broader scale and eases concerns adults may have about returning to the classroom or office. 

As noted in the July 14th report, the probability of a patient of any age recovering from COVID is on the rise. And the recent case increases in states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona have not produced anything near the hospitalizations or fatalities experienced during the initial surges in New York and New Jersey. “Therefore, a rise in new cases alone…does not justify cases becoming the new benchmark for justifying epicenter-level executive orders or increased social anxiety.”

To make matters worse, the American people are constantly “underinformed” by the media and the CDC about COVID. We are bombarded with numbers about new cases, but we aren’t being told how many people are being tested or how many of those tests are negative. We see numbers about fatalities but not about recoveries. 

As noted in the report, weekly new fatalities have declined for 10 consecutive weeks based on CDC data, but the CDC is failing to share this information with the public. The report’s authors have urged authorities to add positive data alongside negative data to create a more accurate picture for the public. 

“The United States is well into recovery despite the increase in new cases…which are more likely due to significant increases in testing,” explains the report. “Our data projections suggest…the US is now projected to have over 2.7 million recoveries.” An additional 2.5 million patients are not expected to require hospitalization.

“A time is at hand when the national conversation must shift away from fears over new cases and refocus on addressing the very real, economic, mental health, physical health, emotional health, and social collateral damage created by the prolonged intrusion of executive orders upon our Constitutional freedoms,” concludes the report. 

Author’s Note: This information, coupled with the fact that two potential vaccines entered Phase 3 Trials this month, should be more than enough reason to send kids back to school.