Should Our Kids Go Back to School? An Apolitical Review of COVID-19 Data.

Transmission of COVID-19 Among Children

In its July 23, 2020 article entitled, “Preparing K-12 School Administrators for a Safe return to School in Fall 2020“, the CDC states the following with respect to the transmitability of COVID-19 among school age children:

“Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults. While some children have been sick with COVID-19, adults make up nearly 95% of reported COVID-19 cases. [4] Early reports suggest children are less likely to get COVID-19 than adults, and when they do get COVID-19, they generally have a less serious illness. [5] As of July 21, 2020, 6.6% of reported COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1% of COVID-19-related deaths are among children and adolescents less than 18 years of age in the United States. [6]

“Early reports suggest the number of COVID-19 cases among children may vary by age and other factors. Adolescents aged 10-17 may be more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 than children younger than age 10, [7], [8] but adolescents do not appear to be at higher risk of developing severe illness. [9]

“Data on SARS-CoV-2 transmission among children are limited. Evidence from other countries suggests that the majority of children with COVID-19 were infected by a family member. [13] For example, the first pediatric patients in South Korea and Vietnam were most likely from contact with an adult family member. [14], [15] Published reports from contact tracing of students with COVID-19 in schools from France, Australia, and Ireland suggest that students are not as likely to transmit the virus to other students compared to household contacts. [16], [17][18] However, more research is needed on SARS-CoV-2 transmission between children and household members.”

Are Teachers at Risk?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2017-18 nearly 93% of all Public School teachers were under the age of 60, source.

Teacher AgePercent
Under 3015.0%
30 to 3927.9%
40 to 4929.0%
50 to 5920.7%
60 and Over7.4%
Table 6: Public School Teachers by Age

Accordingly, Working Age persons, those between 25 and 54 years, account for nearly 52% of the U.S. population and only 20.2% of all COVID-19 deaths (32,298). Their odds against dying of COVID are 5,297 to one.

To date, there are no recorded incidents of a Teacher passing COVID-19 to a student or receiving it from a student and dying. (???)

Additional Tables

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