ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new study is causing some health care professionals to give additional pause about kids returning to school.
“An article published in the journal, the American Medical Association 'Pediatrics,' that children 5 years of age and younger -- we really haven't been doing much testing -- have the same level of viral load in their system as adults,” said Dr. Jay Wolfson, a public health professional at USF Health.
The children studied had all tested positive for the virus and had significant viral levels.
“So, you know, some people are saying, well, they can't really get it,” Wolfson said. “They can act as hosts.”
The study did not measure how easily kids can spread it. But there is a concern because of the viral load present in young kids.
“So that creates a very challenging issue as we move into the school year to ensure that they are protected when they go back to school from each other, that the teachers and the staff in the school are protected from each other and that the parents are protected when they go back home,” Wolfson said.
Some pediatricians are worried about kids spreading the virus, based on their experiences with other viruses, like the flu.
“They're super spreaders and I don't know why that would be different with COVID. I think time will tell us,” said Dr. David Robinson, the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Arguing that until percent positivity goes down, kids should not be in school.
“It needs to be 5 percent for me to go to, say Home Depot, or to a restaurant, where I might be for an hour or two. It sure as heck needs to be less than 5 percent for me to send my kids to school for eight hours,” Robinson said.
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