Return to school is driving up Covid-19 cases in kids, but there are more tools to keep them safe this year

Covid-19 cases are on the rise among kids in the United States as another school year gets underway.   New cases reported among children in the last week of August were 14% higher than they were two weeks earlier, according to data tracked by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They jumped even more in the South, where classes have been in session for weeks. In contrast, overall cases for all ages were down about 17% in the same timeframe.   Experts say that this increased transmission is to be expected – but that keeping kids in school should be the priority, and there are now enough ways to make sure it’s done safely.   “We do see infectious diseases spread every time the school year starts. That’s been a phenomenon well-known long before Covid,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the pediatric association’s committee on infectious diseases. “The good news is, we’re in a much different place with this pandemic than we were two years ago, or even last year, in terms of the percentage of the population that’s vaccinated.”   Eligibility for Covid-19 vaccines was expanded to include ages 5 to 11 in November, making this the first full school year in which all school-age children could have their initial series.   Still, vaccination rates for children lag and have changed little recently: About 61% of children ages 12 to 17 – and just 31% of children 5 to 11 – have their initial series, compared with about 77% of adults, according to CDC data.   Children 5 and older are also eligible for a booster shot, but only those 12 and older can get the updated version. And so far, only about 10% of children ages 5 to 17 have gotten a booster.   Even still, there’s greater population immunity built up through a combination of vaccination and infection.   That doesn’t mean the potential for Covid to spread in schools should be ignored, experts say; it was still a top 10 cause of death for children last year, and there’s too much uncertainty about what’s to come.   Last year, the CDC updated its school guidance to prioritize in-person learning while maintaining layered prevention strategies such as masking, physical distancing and vaccinations for those who were eligible. Last month, the guidance was updated again, dropping recommendations for programs that require a negative test to stay in the classroom or restrict kids to one classroom, or cohort.   Mask mandates have dropped across the county, too.   However, while the CDC and others are more generally focused on preventing severe disease from Covid-19, experts say there are still benefits to avoiding infection, especially for kids in school.   “We have to really take a life course approach with children,” Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatrics professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and chair of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, said – thinking about both the short- and long-term effects. “My hope is that we make schools a safe and equitable place to continue to learn and that we support our children, no matter what happens.”   As a parent herself, Lee recommends that kids continue to wear masks in schools and keep up-to-date with any vaccines they’re eligible for.