Not opening schools is child abuse

The Chicago Teachers Union has announced that they don't support opening schools because of COVID-19. Based on scientific facts and data, that is child abuse.

First, as Dr. Atlas of The Hoover Institute said, "The COVID 19 fatality risk to children is nearly zero."

According to the CDC, only 30 American children under 15 have died from COVID-19, which is only 15.7% of the number of kids that die from the annual flu each year. Do we shut down our schools for the flu every year?

On top of that, science shows that the vast majority of young kids don't even get COVID-19 because of their strong immune systems which means that they can't infect teachers or their parents. Most European countries have opened their schools with no negative impact on COVID-19 cases.

On top of that, not sending kids to school has severe negative impacts on kids that can last a lifetime. The American Academy of Pediatrics announced that "Missing school can have serious consequences for child health and well-being, particularly for students with disabilities or special health care needs." Not to mention the damage to their academic learning which could negatively harm them for the rest of their lives.

As Dr. Atlas said, "School closing severely damages children's development and generates next to no gains for public health." Yet, the Chicago Teachers Union wants to shut down our schools? That, folks, is the definition of child abuse. It is time for all the American people to stand up for their kids and grandkids and demand that our schools open on time and that teachers do their jobs that we pay them to do with our taxes.

Randy Rossi

Grayslake