nothin Still Much Left To Learn About Kids & Covid-19 | New Haven Independent

Still Much Left To Learn About Kids & Covid-19

(Opinion) Tuesday, after ten months of remote learning, New Haven Public Schools are scheduled to re-open for in-person learning based on the disputable assertion at the Jan. 13 Board of Education meeting that the SARS-CoV2 virus spread among children is minimal. While children seem to be less susceptible to life-threatening Covid-19 illness, many studies suggest that children are infected by the SARS-CoV2 virus at a similar rate as adults and that students can and do bring the virus home to their families.

While it feels as though the pandemic has been with us for ages, we are at an early stage in the scientific exploration of the impact of SARS-CoV2 virus, and particularly on children. COVID-19 invades cells in the body through its spike protein, which attaches to an ACE‑2 protein on the outer surface of cells. ACE‑2 is expressed in many cells in the body, which explains the varying and multi-organ impact of COVID-19 illness. Once inside the cell, virally infected cells alert the immune system that a foreign pathogen has invaded the body, and the SARS-CoV2 virus stimulates the immune system to go haywire, leading to damage to the surrounding cells in the tissue. Many reports suggest that the virus infects cells surrounding blood vessels, which is particularly detrimental to the lungs of Covid-19 patients because these vessels provide essential oxygen that we inhale to the rest of our body. The damage of Covid-19 to blood vessels also damages the heart, leading to cardiac injury. Just last week, we learned that the virus can also infect neurons and damage the brain.

Only a few medical studies have focused on Covid-19 and children. One study suggests that children under 10 may have lower expression of nose ACE‑2 protein. However, only 45 children were included, and SARS-CoV2 virus can infect many cell types besides those in the nose. Another study looked at a few (58) COVID-19+ student athletes, finding that 1/3 had an inflamed heart. Only 12 months have passed since the start of the pandemic, and it’s only been a few weeks since the formation of the new UK variant. Understanding the full impact of the virus on children, which can lead to long-term neurological and physical symptoms in many infected with the virus, will require significantly more robust research, which takes time and careful methods.

All Covid-19 pandemic policies balance risk with potential benefit. Schools provide many services to our community beyond education and safely reopening schools with appropriate safety measures is and should be a top priority of our nation and state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that when 5 – 20 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 persons within the last 14 days, the correct use of masks, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, and contract tracing can reduce transmission risk in schools. Furthermore, cohorting, strict scheduling of drop-offs, and limiting communal spaces and food service are also essential for mitigating viral transmission. However, New Haven has reported 62.5 new cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. Even with the CDC’s recommended safety measures, in-person school may be unsafe in an environment of very high transmission.

The district-wide plan on the New Haven Board of Education website lacks essential, specific details on everything from social distancing protocols to disinfectant strategies. Individual schools have not distributed robust plans to parents. Given that the COVID-19 illness has disproportionately ravaged Black and Brown communities, proper and well-communicated mitigation plans in a district that educates ~80% black and brown students are essential to promote health equity for racial and ethnic minority groups. Until enough of our community can be vaccinated, reopening schools without proper safety measures puts our children and community at elevated and unacceptable risk.

Valerie Horsley (pictured) is an associate professor in the Yale University and Yale School of Medicine Departments of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology and Dermatology.

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