Missouri Gov. Parson faces criticism for saying most kids will catch COVID in school
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is pushing for schools to reopen this fall while acknowledging that he believes it will mean most students will likely contract coronavirus.
The governor’s comments, which drew national attention and criticism, were made during a Friday interview with St. Louis radio host Marc Cox. Parson told Cox that while kids will likely contract the virus, they are “the least likely to have a problem” when they do.
“These kids gotta get back to school,” Parson said. “They’re at the lowest risk possible and if they do get COVID-19 — which they will, and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals, they’re not going to have to sit in doctors offices. They’re going to go home, and they’re gonna get over it and most of it all proves out to be that way if you look at the science of it.”
Parson’s comments come as Missouri is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases, and as a nationwide debate heats up over how and when schools should open.
Kansas City Public Schools delayed its announcement of a reopening plan on Monday, citing advice from the local health department that in-person school was not advised in Kansas City.
Of the more than 139,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus, children under the age of 15 account for only 31 of those deaths, according to CDC data.
Young children do seem to be at lower risk of contracting the virus, but that doesn’t mean kids are immune or cannot get sick. And while there is evidence that they don’t have the same coronavirus-spreading potential as adults, the science on that isn’t conclusive.
A report released last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that “there is insufficient evidence with which to determine how easily children and youth contract the virus and how contagious they are once they do.”
Sean O’Leary, a professor and pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, said he agrees with Parson on the importance of children being in school. However, he said “the decision to have children physically present in school is a very complicated, difficult question, and must account for the current conditions.”
If there is widespread community transmission, O’Leary said even with mitigation measures in place there will outbreaks within schools, necessitating them to be shut down and putting the health of students, teachers and staff at risk.
“While it does seem that children are not affected as severely as adults by COVID-19, some certainly do get sick, and some very sick,” he said. “It is also important to note that while younger children appear to be less likely to spread the infection, it’s incorrect to say that they can’t spread it at all.”
He stressed that to safely reopen schools across the US, “we need to act right now to control the spread, and that includes using face coverings when in public, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding large gatherings.”
Parson has been vehement that students should return to class this fall. He said Friday during his radio interview that “the risk of not putting them back in school, I guarantee you, will create more problems than the virus will ever think about creating, long term for our state.”
Missouri Democrats condemned Parson’s comments, accusing him of being cavalier with the health and well being of students, parents and teachers.
“This is stunning ignorance from Gov. Parson on how COVID-19 affects children,” state Auditor Nicole Galloway, the likely Democratic nominee for governor, tweeted Friday. “He admitted that he’s okay with your kids (and your families) getting the deadly disease when he sends them back to school. Does he not realize multiple American kids have died after being infected?”
Kevin Donohoe, spokesman for the Missouri Democratic Party, called the governor’s comments “despicable and morally reprehensible.”
Steele Shippy, Parson’s campaign manager, responded to the criticism via Twitter, arguing that science says kids are not at risk.
“That is simply a fact,” Shippy said. “So it is inaccurate and typical hyperbole to spin words and negatively attack the governor as if he isn’t for kids. He is for kids and he is following the science.”
Parson addressed the controversy during a press conference about crime prevention in Kansas City on Monday, saying he thinks his words were taken out of context.
“When I say this virus is going to be in our school system, and somebody says I don’t care about that, I care deeply about that,” he said. “But I also think it’s very important as a public official that you speak the truth about that. That’s a real possibility, so are you prepared for that when that day comes.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 12:13 PM.
