THREAD: Covid caused 338,000 diagnosed infections in kids. 86 tragically died, thousands more hospitalized. To compare burden to flu, an estimated 11.3 million kids got symptomatic flu in 2018-19, 477 died. If Covid became as widespread in kids as flu, outcomes could be grim. 1/3

Our focus must be on preventing Covid from becoming epidemic in kids and safely reopening schools in communities that controlled spread. There are steps we can take to accomplish these goals; reducing risks of outbreaks in schools and keeping kids safe 2/3 https://www.wsj.com/articles/want-schools-to-open-get-serious-about-outbreaks-11596396822

There’s lot we don’t understand about Covid in kids. We shouldn't trivialize observed or possible risks. Schools have been closed; many kids deliberately sheltered from infection. In coaxing schools to open it’s imprudent to argue Covid is harmless, or milder in kids than flu 3/3

Summary of Covid pediatric data available from the American Academy of Pediatrics latest update

Summary of flu data from 2018-19

This is not about estimating a CFR. The point is we should take reasonable steps to make sure Covid doesn’t become as widespread in kids as flu does, or the accrued morbidity will be higher. Most kids will get mild or asymptomatic Covid but some children can get very sick.