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I've almost given up on any balanced discourse about children, #COVID19 and schools, as everyone seems intent on either pretending children are not affected at all, or becoming borderline hysterical over the point
Case study: US daycares
1/6
Case study: US daycares
1/6
This study from daycares in Utah has been amplified by high profile figures on twitter as a "big deal"
12 children infected (by staff) with 12 secondary cases, all in their homes, with no mention of transmission in the facility
A "big deal"
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e3.htm
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12 children infected (by staff) with 12 secondary cases, all in their homes, with no mention of transmission in the facility
A "big deal"
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e3.htm
2/6
That study is 3 days old and has an altmetric score of over 4000
That is insane
12 children with 12 secondary cases in over 3 months
How is this even newsworthy?
3/6
That is insane
12 children with 12 secondary cases in over 3 months
How is this even newsworthy?
3/6
Oh look, another study of daycares in the US (Rhode Island)
In facilities catering for up to 19,000 children, 30 cases in children found
Of 20/29 facilities with cases, there were no secondary infections associated
Altmetric 640
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6934e2.htm?s_cid=mm6934e2_w
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In facilities catering for up to 19,000 children, 30 cases in children found
Of 20/29 facilities with cases, there were no secondary infections associated
Altmetric 640
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6934e2.htm?s_cid=mm6934e2_w
4/6
Both of these studies show basically the same thing; children can catch it and transmit, but the rate seems pretty low
The way they've been packaged is different: one is balanced and says, "with careful measures, this seems ok"
The other: "OMG CHILDREN TRANSMIT"
5/6
The way they've been packaged is different: one is balanced and says, "with careful measures, this seems ok"
The other: "OMG CHILDREN TRANSMIT"
5/6
Children need us to move past this slightly hysterical, polarised way of talking about the risks of schooling, how we can mitigate against them, and how these are weighed up against the harms of lack of education. Particularly where it's become political
We can do better
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We can do better
6/6
