Let’s put politics aside and help our children through pandemic
Last month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky put children and the COVID debate into perspective:
“I think we fall into this flawed thinking of saying that only 400 of these 600,000 deaths from COVID19 have been in children. Children are not supposed to die, so 400 is a huge amount,” she told lawmakers during a July 20 hearing.
It’s a perspective the American Society for the Positive Care of Children agrees with wholeheartedly. And it’s something I, as a mother and member of this nonprofit aimed at protecting children, am deeply saddened by.
Even though children account for about a half-percent of COVID-related deaths, these are still tragic and avoidable. American SPCC’s overall mission is to save kids from preventable deaths. And COVID-19 is the latest imminent threat to children’s health and survival.
Still, children aren’t being properly protected. This spring, many vaccinated Americans felt comfortable going back to a sense of normal. They relaxed old safety measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing.
Then the delta variant arrived. Now, COVID hospitalizations among children are rising in states with high community transmission, with Florida leading the nation in this unsettling trend. As of mid-August, more than 50 children per week were being hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state. Local doctors are calling it an “alarming rise” while reminding us that the virus “is not sparing anybody.”
On top of this, we are just starting to learn about the mental health impact the pandemic is having on children. In fact, experts are beginning to associate the disruptions caused by COVID-19 with the sort of traumatic experiences researchers have linked to negative effects on health, well-being and opportunities later in life. Whether a child is experiencing changes to routines, breaks in learning, missed life events or instability within the household, the research is clear: These events shouldn’t be taken lightly.
These concerns are top of mind for me as I continue receiving the same, dreaded voicemail from my 12-year-old son’s school principal: that an individual on campus has been diagnosed with COVID-19. We are less than one month into the school year, and the notices keep trickling in. Although my son is vaccinated, I know he’s not bulletproof. These messages chill me to my core.
As another uncertain school year gets underway for millions of young Americans, we all must stop and ask ourselves whether we are doing our part to bring as much stability to children’s lives as possible. They deserve this. But it’s adults who have the power.
Unfortunately, many of the solutions to these issues are fraught with political polarization. But they don’t have to be. When it comes to saving or improving children’s lives, it’s the job of our entire community, in Florida and beyond, to step up and make it happen.
It’s my hope and that of the American SPCC that more Americans will start to follow the guidance from our nation’s top experts. For many, this will mean putting masks back on, getting vaccinated and quarantining when you feel the slightest of symptoms. We may not be able to individually see the impacts of these decisions in our own homes.
However, similarly, when we plant seeds in our world, we do not always see the impact, even though it is there. As adults, parents and guardians of our youth’s futures, let’s work together to continue planting positive seeds by ensuring that there is a future we can all look forward to.