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More context:
- we can't know how many of the hundreds of thousands of kids in preschool & daycare *might* be + bc most young kids never have symptoms. all symptomatic kids are excluded until they test -
- we can't know how many cases are not reported — that's how reporting works https://twitter.com/AngelJennings/status/1299390143275520002
- we can't know how many of the hundreds of thousands of kids in preschool & daycare *might* be + bc most young kids never have symptoms. all symptomatic kids are excluded until they test -
- we can't know how many cases are not reported — that's how reporting works https://twitter.com/AngelJennings/status/1299390143275520002
what I can tell you is I've been covering preschool & daycare since March, I've toured at least a dozen & talked to scores of caregivers & all of them are frightened of the virus & none of them has seen or heard of a single childcare-based case. precautions are extreme
there are more cases in caregivers than in children, but it's still a tiny fraction of a percent of the workforce. if there are lots of asymptomatic kids — which there *could* be, we don't have anywhere near the testing capacity to know — they are not infecting their teachers.
There were more kids testing + in the summer than in the spring. a) "kids" means anyone <18 b) we don't know if that reflects more testing or more infection or both c) we don't know if those infected kids had any symptoms or infected anyone else. We probably won't ever know.
We *do* know that lots of little kids have been in group care for months. We *do* know many 1000s of those were in places like LA w/ high community transmission. we know only a very few were hospitalized — a sliver in this age group — even when/where adult ICUs were full.
We can't know *for sure* that every pediatric Covid hospitalization is counted and reported. hospitalization data has some quirks
BUT, you can bet we count every pediatric death. Kids rarely die, so when they do — especially during a pandemic — we take note
BUT, you can bet we count every pediatric death. Kids rarely die, so when they do — especially during a pandemic — we take note
If there was any sense at all that pediatric Covid deaths were being undercounted or otherwise obscured, doctors would be screaming. Parents would be screaming.They're not. Tragically, California has had 2 pediatric Covid deaths. Both were teenagers.
Finally, daycare & preschool workers are under enormous economic pressure to remain open. MANY are older & high risk/live in high risk households. Tens of thousands care for kids IN THEIR HOMES. Without these essential workers, other frontline families couldn't do their jobs
The data at the heart of this story are a natural experiment on the backs of these lowwage workers — mostly women of color. By the mercy of G-d, they were spared. Science is still trying to explain it, but the statistical fact is irrefutable. The numbers speak for themselves.
