Francis Collins, director of National Institutes of Health, indicated on Sunday that there are increasing numbers of children becoming ill in America amid increased fears about children being both victims and vectors of Covid-19's latest variant surge.He also made these comments as the largest teacher union in America appeared to change its position regarding mandatory vaccinations for teachers.Collins said that 90 million adults remain unvaccinated and vaccines are still unauthorized for 12 years or less. He also stated that 1,450 children from Covid-19 are currently in the hospital.Collins acknowledged that there was not enough data about pediatric infections, but he stated that he had heard from pediatricians that they were concerned that the children in the hospital are more severe and more diverse.Collins' comments were made as Covid-19 cases in America have increased to over 100,000 per day, a return to levels seen six months ago during the winter surge. As the US school year approaches, health officials are focusing on children to add urgency.Collins stated that his advice to parents with school-age children was to think of masks the way they should be.He said, "This is not a political statement nor an invasion of your freedoms." This is a lifesaving medical device. Although it is difficult to ask children to wear masks, they are quite resilient. We know that children under 12 years old are more likely to be infected than adults. If schools don't have masks, the virus will spread faster.He said that the alternative will likely lead to outbreaks in schools, and that kids will need to return to remote learning, which is what we really want to avoid.Collins warned that children who have been exposed to virtual learning for over a year are at risk of their growth and advised that they should be back in school. The best way to do this is to make sure everyone, including the students, wears masks.Randi Weingarten (president of the American Federation of Teachers) called for mandatory vaccines for teachers. She stated that it was a matter of conscience and she believes we should be working with our employers on vaccine mandates.Weingarten's comments represent a shift from the union's previous position, in which teachers were prioritized for vaccines but did not support a mandate. Weingarten indicated last week that she would support vaccine mandates in order to keep staff and students safe and schools open.Chief medical advisor to Joe Biden Dr Anthony Fauci also shared Weingarten's comments Sunday. He said that the best way for children to be protected from the virus was to surround them with people who are able to vaccinate them, regardless of their age. Get them vaccinated, teachers, staff, or anyone else.Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb also addressed the concerns. He stated that schools aren't inherently safe from the Delta virus and that society shouldn't expect the same result as we saw in relation to schools that were relatively successful in controlling large outbreaks with different behaviors.Right now, the problem is that the spread of the infection will increase with the opening school. Gottleib said that schools can be a source of transmission to other strains when you're dealing with more transmissible strains.
