The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been a mess for much of the pandemic. Even as it eases its recommendations for quarantines for adults, the agency is still getting everything wrong when it comes to children.
The CDC cut its quarantine guidelines from 10 days to five days for people who test positive for the virus, even if they are unvaccinated. “CDC’s updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
But that does not apply to children. Two days after this updated guidance, the CDC also updated its page on “COVID-19 Isolation for K-12 Schools.” And yet, CDC guidance for schools remains a 10-day total isolation from school, extracurricular activities, and social gatherings for those who test positive, even if they are asymptomatic.
5 days for adults, but 10 days for kids – the group with the lowest risk from COVID, but highest costs of being ‘out’. https://t.co/ATpVXzFTCt
— Joseph Allen (@j_g_allen) January 2, 2022
So, while the CDC takes its more nuanced approach to guidelines for adults, it wants children to be forced into 10 days of inaction and failing virtual learning despite the fact that children are at less risk of the virus than vaccinated adults. As has been the case since the start of the pandemic, children should be the last ones to have their life altered by a virus that is far less dangerous to them than the flu. This is especially true when it comes to schools, when we know how catastrophic virtual learning has been.
The CDC has let its COVID guidelines for schools be dictated by teachers unions, which have continually fought for school closures and other measures that promote virtual learning, despite the fact that children simply are not at serious risk from COVID-19. The fact that the CDC is dragging its feet on guidelines for children while cutting quarantine times for adults shows, once again, that the agency is in the pocket of teachers unions and has no interest in “science” or data.
Children should have almost no restrictions, especially when it comes to schools, and there is no justification whatsoever for stricter restrictions or guidelines on children than on adults. The CDC’s guidelines are being used by states and localities as an excuse to continue virtual learning and force children into quarantines and mandatory masking. It wasn’t necessary in 2020, and it is inexcusable now.
