Large UK study finds lockdowns unnecessary for children
In this July 8, 2021 article for BNN Bloomberg, Katharine Gemmell and Suzi Ring reports on the results of a large UK study conducted by researchers from the University College London, University of Bristol, University of York, and the University of Liverpool.
The study, which was an analysis of three papers, showed that most young people face an “extremely low” risk of illness and death from COVID-19 and that they have no real need to shield themselves from the virus. One of the researches included in the analysis showed that those aged under 18 years had a 1-in-50,000 chance of being admitted to intensive care during the first year of the pandemic. It also found even in young people who had conditions that were previously thought to have increased risk for COVID, for example, those who have active asthma and cystic fibrosis were found to be a “very little risk”.
Elizabeth Whittaker, senior clinical lecturer in pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at the Imperial College London said this in a comment: “It is reassuring that these findings reflect our clinical experience in the hospital – we see very few serious unwell children…We hope this data will be reassuring”.
Meanwhile, Russel Viner, a professor of child and adolescent health at University College London said, “There’s a general feeling among pediatricians that probably too many children were shielded in the first elements of the pandemic and that there’s probably very few children that need to shield according to these data”.
Editor’s Note: If there is one undebatable fact about this “pandemic” it is that there was no need for school closures [we have numerous articles on this website about this, see Science says it’s time to open schools and Overcome the fear: Sign petition to end lockdowns of children and the youth]. Children didn’t need to be locked down as they were largely unaffected by the virus and did not spread the disease. In fact, some countries, like Sweden and Taiwan, never closed their schools [see Despite open schools, no masks, no social distancing, no children died of COVID-19 in Sweden]. Meanwhile, Denmark and other neighboring countries reopened their schools just a month after their initial lockdowns [see Reopening schools in Denmark did not worsen coronavirus outbreak, Finland schools reopen successfully, Schools in the Netherlands are reopening, and children do not have to maintain social distance, Reopening of schools has not triggered a new wave of coronavirus infections].
For over a year, many experts working with children have been calling the reopening of schools [see 60+ doctors and educators release statement on the situation of children and adolescents during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, German experts: Schools and day care centers should be reopened, Expert panel recommends reopening of schools for young children and children with special needs, American Academy of Pediatrics release recommendations for school re-opening, Scientific evidence shows schools can clearly be opened, Science shows schools must re-open for in-person learning]. Even the World Health Organization has called for reopening schools [see WHO: Closure of schools should be considered only if there is no other alternative]. Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that there is very little risk for children to go back to school and that teachers do not need to be vaccinated for schools to reopen [see CDC: Risk of coronavirus in schools is small, CDC: Vaccinating teachers not a pre-requisite for safe school reopening]. Why then aren’t schools open in many schools around the world?
In the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte recently said that schools will not reopen until “herd immunity” is reached.1https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/21/duterte-no-face-to-face-classes-until-children-are-vaccinated What scientific proof did he base this decision on? He has compromised the learning and development of our children, for no other reason but his caprice [see Children learned next to nothing during distance schooling]. It is clear that children have no need for vaccines, and some of those who have received these toxic injections have died [also read 15-year old dies after Pfizer COVID injection, Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is irresponsible and unethical].
Why is the Department of Education waiting for Duterte to decide on the lives of our children when he clearly knows nothing about children and education during the “pandemic”? Why is the Commission on Human Rights not doing anything? The very act of preventing children from going out and meeting other children is a violation of their rights [See UNICEF: Prohibiting minors from going outside is an infringement of children’s rights]. Are they going to wait until 2022, when the so-called “herd immunity” is achieved?2https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1459332/ph-seen-achieving-herd-immunity-in-mid-2022 This herd immunity is not going to happen if their definition of the term is dependent on vaccination and does not include natural immunity.
What happens if another fake “deadly” variant is “discovered”? How long will they be complicit to the illogical, unscientific, and authoritarian dictates of Duterte? From where we stand, we see this: they are compromising our children’s futures because they are afraid of a fake pandemic, and the anger of Duterte.
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