JACKSON — “A year ago, we were protecting the vulnerable immunocompromised and elderly. Yet with this (Delta) strain, the children in my arms are part of the vulnerable I am trying to protect.” So laments a Mississippi mom in her blog.
Protecting vulnerable children from the surging delta variant is a priority for governors in some states. Not yet in Mississippi, though this sudden surge has alarmed health care officials.
“The risks to children are real,” state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told reporters.
“We are seeing numbers more than we ever have before of healthy children that are getting hospitalized,” said Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and COVID-19 clinical response leader. Just in Jackson, UMMC’s Children’s Hospital has no more beds available for children with serious COVID cases.
This accompanies the overall upswing in COVID cases in Mississippi. Last week, state cases surged past the previous one-day record. Doctors say the delta strain is as contagious as the chicken pox.
Schools, just barely opened for the fall semester, saw the impact. “Less than two weeks into August, more than 4,000 students across the state have tested positive for COVID,” the Clarion Ledger reported last week. Lamar County schools had 442 students test positive in the first 10 days of school.
Yet, Mississippi has implemented no overall strategy to protect children from the virus. Decisions are left up to school districts and local officials in what has become a highly politicized controversy.
State and federal guidelines are clear. Testing, social distancing, sanitation and, yes, masking are the best means to protect unvaccinated children.
“I want to make sure everybody understands,” said Dobbs. “You can’t fill a classroom with non-immune kids without a mask on with the most contagious coronavirus we’ve ever seen circulating, and expect for it not to spread. It’s just biology.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics, based on scientific studies, recommends masks in schools for everyone over age 2.
One such study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that “airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route to spread the disease” and face coverings “alone significantly reduced the number of infections.”
Of course, the best protection for children, as for adults, is vaccination. So far, only children age 12 and older can be vaccinated. Again, in some states governors are aggressively pushing such vaccinations. In Mississippi it gets mentioned.
While incidents are still rare, there is growing concern about the long-term impact of COVID on children.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that a large number of children with symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 are experiencing long-term effects, many months after the initial infection,” found a National Center for Biotechnology Information study.
“Symptoms of long COVID were first thought to include fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, insomnia, respiratory problems and heart palpitations. Now, support groups and researchers say there may be up to 100 other symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems, nausea, dizziness, seizures, hallucinations and testicular pain.”
“Children are a heritage from the Lord,” says Psalm 127:3. It is unconscionable not to do all we can to protect them.
- Bill Crawford, of Jackson, is a Republican former state lawmaker.
