As the pandemic closures march toward nearly a year of U.S. children not being physically in school, many doctors and health professionals are questioning whether schools should continue to stall opening.
NPR takes on the controversy, quoting pediatrician and medical director at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., Dr. Danielle Dooley, who said the negative impacts are taking their toll on children. From mental health problems to hunger to the risk of child abuse and more, the children are beginning to suffer greatly — not to mention the education they’re not getting, she said.
Meanwhile, schools around the world in places like Thailand, South Africa, Gambia, Vietnam and Japan are finding that opening schools does not contribute to “superspreader” events. In Sweden, there is zero mortality from the virus in the 1.8 million children who stayed in school in the spring.