Pediatricians Say Children Should Return to School. Are They Out of Their Minds?
What is the American Academy of Pediatrics thinking?
I have to admit that as a front-line pediatrician caring for hospitalized COVID-infected children, I was caught off guard by the American Academy of Pediatrics’s release last week of a guidance document stating, “the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” (Full disclosure: while I hold a leadership position in the AAP, I was not involved in crafting this policy, and I am not speaking for the AAP here, only for myself.)
The recommendation flew in the face of my instincts regarding COVID, especially at this moment when cases seem to be exploding in my state of North Carolina. And yet I know many of the people involved in crafting this advice, and I’m confident that none of them are delusional, impaired, or irresponsible, so I figured I’d better research why they think we should cram our kids into big viral incubators less than two months from now.
To grasp this advice, it helps to know the AAP’s priorities. The AAP defines its mission as, “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young…
