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Delta variant and kids: What parents need to know - The Washington Post

Delta variant and kids: What parents need to know - The Washington Post

Delta variant and kids: What parents need to know - The Washington Post
Jul 22, 2021 2 mins, 6 secs

Doctors say there isn’t a good sense yet about whether the delta variant is more severe than the previous versions of the coronavirus, because of a lack of data, but one thing is clear: “It is certainly more transmissible,” said Sean O’Leary, vice chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The delta variant is 50 to 60 percent more transmissible than the alpha variant.

The virus’s ability to spread quickly is especially worrisome because “only half of the children who are eligible are vaccinated,” said Jennifer Lighter, pediatric infectious-disease specialist at New York University Langone Health.

One bit of reassurance: Anecdotally, it looks like the illness caused by the delta variant is no more severe than that caused by the other variants so far, said Allison Bartlett, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist with University of Chicago Medicine.

“The most important thing that we can do is everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated, be vaccinated,” O’Leary said.

In addition, we must use the same measures we have all along to protect vaccinated and unvaccinated children, he said: “Be thoughtful about what you’re doing, where you’re going, and outdoors is safer than in.

The best way to avoid the delta variant is just what we’ve been told so far.

That said, “the most important thing a parent can do to protect their children is convince their parents to get vaccinated,” Lighter said.

During this phase of the pandemic, O’Leary said, approach the idea of taking unvaccinated children to indoor public places the same way you do during flu season.

Vaccinated parents who are infected will have some amount of virus that they can spread, Bartlett said, but “it’s less than if not vaccinated.” Also, a “breakthrough infection” among vaccinated people is still very rare, Lighter added.

“We want those around them to wear their masks to protect our child,” she said.

“It makes sense to have layered mitigation measures but to have kids in school,” O’Leary said.

For the vast majority of kids, Bartlett said, “there was less engagement in learning, less social emotional development, no physical therapy, occupational therapy … meals

In a recommendation that goes beyond directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics has advised that everyone in schools wear masks, particularly because “you can’t verify who is vaccinated and who isn’t,” Lighter pointed out

How to stay safe as cases are on the rise because of the delta variant

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