Children Are the Subjects of an Unethical Experiment

In an ongoing attempt to reopen schools before the coronavirus pandemic is under control, Trump claimed that children are "almost immune from the disease…. They just don't have a problem." He also claimed that the reason we have so many cases is because we test so much, and that the virus will "go away like things go away." His comments were removed from Twitter and Facebook because they are factually wrong and ignore all of the evidence that has been collected since the beginning of the pandemic.

Children should be able to return to school. It's the best place for learning, and not only of academic subjects. They also learn to socialize and interact with their peers and with teachers. They learn that hard work has benefits. It also allows parents or guardians to work while children are in school. But the reopening of schools should happen only if it is safe to do so.

School children have been the most quarantined group in the country because of school shutdowns in response to the exponential rise of infections in March 2020 when there were only 5000 cases in the United States. They have remained quarantined -- until now when there are over 2 million active covid-19 cases in the country. Schools will re-open with various mixes of virtual and in-person participation. But children are not immune despite what Trump and Devos claim. They can get infected, sometimes with serious consequences, and may carry very much higher viral loads than adults. They may then infect teachers, parents, and grandparents. In-person schools and gatherings will supply the fuel the virus needs.

In the four weeks following July 9, approximately 180,000 children have been infected with the virus, a 90% increase over the number of previous infections. At a Georgia summer camp in July, of 344 campers, 260 were infected. Of children from 6 to 17 years old, approximately half were infected. At the Corinth School District in Mississippi, over 100 students were quarantined after 6 students and one staff member were infected after one week of in-person classes. At the Cherokee County School District in Georgia, 1,100  students and eight teachers were quarantined after multiple infections appeared.

Every rise in daily cases was due to an abundant number of victims for the virus to infect. Every decrease was due to a reduced number of victims because of shutdowns, masks, and distancing. Some states reacted quickly; some ignored the experts. The U.S. never dropped below 20K cases per day because of disparate policies among the states and a complete lack of a science-based federal response from Trump.

If Trump had not disbanded the pandemic response team, and had responded according to the pandemic playbook created by the Obama administration, the pandemic here would probably look more like that in the European Union. But he didn't. Now, we will run an unethical experiment with our children and grandchildren as the subjects. Prepare for an increase in cases and deaths, and more shutdowns. And Trump and his enablers will be responsible.

John L. Ferri

jlferri@epix.n