Coalition of medical professionals issue urgent call to restore normalcy in children’s lives
Today, a group of scientists and pediatric, infectious disease, emergency, and ICU physicians, increasingly concerned that COVID mitigation measures in schools are doing more harm than good, issued a call for an urgent return to normalcy in children’s lives as the Omicron wave subsides. After two years of living with one disruption after another, the evidence is clear: pandemic restrictions are taking a tremendous toll on students, with the data on mental health being particularly alarming.
To support parents, students, teachers, and administrators in understanding the whole-person status of our children’s health, the group has released an advocacy toolkit entitled “Children, COVID and the Urgency of Normal,” available online. In the Toolkit you will find clear, understandable data on vaccine efficacy with Omicron, the dire state of student mental health, and how to protect the vulnerable while also restoring normalcy to our children’s lives. The Toolkit is a collaboration between Dr. Scott Balsitis, Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, Dr. Lucy McBride, Dr. Monica Gandhi, Dr. Jeanne Noble, Dr. Kristen Walsh, Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, Dr. Jeff Vegales, Dr. Nicole Johnson, Dr. Aparna Bole, Dr. Amy Beck, Dr. Eliza Holland, Dr. Tara Henderson and Dr. Kory Stotesbery.
“I am heartened to join my medical and public health colleagues to support parents and child advocates with a compassionate and evidence-based call to restore normalcy for all children. With vaccines widely available and this virus perpetually in our midst, it’s time to appropriately balance the harms of COVID with the harms of pandemic restrictions themselves. It’s time to redefine health as more than the mere absence of COVID. It’s time to prioritize kids’ learning and their social and emotional health,” said co-author Dr. Lucy McBride, internist and mental health advocate.
“We are excited to present this evidence-based approach to public health in children, which acknowledges the enormous value of normal school life. Ongoing school mitigation for COVID with mask mandates, screening testing of asymptomatic children and continuous educational and social disruption have not been shown to prevent severe COVID in children but have resulted in undeniable harms, often disproportionately affecting children of disadvantaged backgrounds. This group has come together to promote a more holistic view of child health, which considers the diverse risks and needs of all children beyond COVID, which at this time does not pose a greater threat to them than seasonal influenza,” added Dr. Tracy Hoeg, a physician scientist in private practice affiliated with the University of California-Davis with a PhD in epidemiology and public health studying COVID transmission in schools.
The working group emphasizes that COVID-19 poses a flu like risk even for unvaccinated children. Teachers remain well-protected by vaccination, with additional protection from boosters for older adults. Extraordinary measures in schools are not justified and it would be in the children’s best interest to move to mask optional policies and to normalize the daily school experience.
The group acknowledges that restoring normalcy won’t be a quick fix for everything our children have been through — nor will it heal every child’s wounds — but it is urgently needed to support our children’s health.
On Tuesday, January 25th at 8pm ET, the group will be hosting an open conversation about the toolkit. Register here.
Media Contacts:
Natalya Murakhver: nmurakhver@gmail.com
Karen Vaites: karenvaites@gmail.com
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