Children Are Dying Due To Choices Made By Adults

By Satyanarayan Hegde, MD & Jonathan Popler, MD

Last week, I and Dr. Jonathan Popler , a pediatric pulmonologist in Atlanta, sent a letter to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) to counter misinformation about masks in children. The letter was signed by more than 60 prominent “Pediatric Pulmonologists ” from around the United States. After reading an article in the WSJ by Dr. Marty Makary , an adult pancreatic surgeon at Johns Hopkins and Dr. Cody Meissner , a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Tufts, we felt compelled to write this letter. “Pediatric Pulmonologists” frequently provide expert advice to their pediatric infectious disease, intensive care and hospitalist colleagues in the hospital settings. “Pediatric Pulmonologists” provide ongoing follow up care for children who develop complications from Covid and other respiratory viruses. By training, experience, and research, “Pediatric Pulmonologists” are experts in the field of bioaerosols . We are waiting with a bated breath for the publication of our letter that debunks the myths about the masks.

Delta Variant Has Shattered The Presumptions On Children's Relative Resilience for Covid-19

In the Covid containment debate, one of the presumptions made by so called experts casting doubts on the safety and efficacy of masks was that hospitalizations, complications and death in children were unheard of. This presumption has now been shattered by the delta variant Covid. Children are getting hospitalized in record numbers in many southern states, and they are also dying in record numbers. In the months to years from now, we will know the true figures of the aftermath effects of Covid in child survivors.

Healthy Children Are Dying From Covid-19

Unlike in adults, the public health data in children are not easily available. Because of the small numbers, city, county, and state health departments suppress the data for privacy reasons. They pool children’s data with larger datasets and it makes difficult to gather meaningful information for those who do not have access to the full dataset. One of the ways to gather information on child deaths from Covid is from media reports. Here is a non-exhaustive list of child deaths recently reported in the media.

Reported Child Deaths In The Media

1. Second death in central Virginia: https://bit.ly/child_death1
2. Mississippi teenager’s sudden death as of Aug 15: https://bit.ly/child_death2
3. 16-year old dies in South Carolina: https://bit.ly/child_death3
4. Two children die in Memphis: https://bit.ly/child_death4
5. Ten year old’s sudden death in Sacramento county, California: https://bit.ly/child_death5
6. Fourth child dying in Mississippi as of July 28: https://bit.ly/child_death6
7. Alabama mother’s regret after her child’s death: https://bit.ly/child_death7
8. Georgia high schooler dies: https://bit.ly/child_death8
9. Eighth grader dies in Raleigh, North Carolina: https://bit.ly/child_death9
10. 17 year old from Columbia county, Florida dies: https://bit.ly/child_death10
11. Norfolk teen in Eastern Virginia dies: https://bit.ly/child_death11
12. Second death in Arkansas: https://bit.ly/child_death12
13. 17-year-old football player dies in the Atlanta suburb: https://bit.ly/child_death13
14. Elementary school student dies in Marshall, Minnesota: https://bit.ly/child_death14
15. 5-year-old dies in Georgia: https://bit.ly/child_death15
16. More than 1000 deaths in Indonesia: https://bit.ly/indonesia_deaths

The Virus Is Replicating, Mutating And Getting Smarter By Dividing Us Along The Political Lines

Unfortunately, the debates about masks are dividing the US along political party lines for which children are paying the price with their life, breath and lungs. Adult policymakers are making important public health decisions with far reaching consequences for children's lung health. It appears, the policymakers for children are not always appropriately informed of the accurate scientific facts about masks and other preventive measures. A retired pediatric pulmonologist from a large city in Texas who has kept an active interest in Covid pandemic and public health, has been tracking child deaths from Covid-19 from publicly available information. He regularly attends the city’s health department’s public meetings on Covid-19. He has noted that the important policy decisions affecting children were being made without input from pediatricians. He kept track of at least 10 child deaths since the pandemic began in his city alone based on the information shared at these public meetings. The pediatric pulmonologist from Texas is concerned about child death data not being shared in a timely manner by the government agencies in his state. According to Miami Herald , since July 2021, Florida Department of Health stopped reporting Covid-19 deaths by age group to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At this stage, we really don't know the actual rate of child deaths due to Covid since the new wave began nearly a month ago. Based on the rates of hospitalization and admission to intensive care units, we can assume that the child death rates are much higher than we saw prior to July 2021.

Let Us Keep Our Political Differences Aside And Move Forward In The Right Direction

Let us refocus our energy on protecting children and their lungs. We don't go to a bone specialist to get treatment for our asthma, nor do we go to an asthma specialist to fix our bones. Should we not consult the real experts when we have questions about scientific facts on Covid containment measures?