SAN ANTONIO – It’s still too early to say definitively, but it appears children under the age of 10 don’t transmit COVID-19 as easily as adults.
“I wish that we had substantial studies that absolutely told you one way or another. But one thing that they are seeing across the board is that the younger children don’t transmit it as much, maybe as their cough isn’t as strong, they’re not as tall,” Dr. Mandie Svatek, a pediatrician with UT Health San Antonio, said.
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As for middle school students, they appear to transmit it as much as adults, Svatek said.
“But if they’re practicing the appropriate measures, then they can be protected,” she said.
Svatek is part of the coalition that is working on creating a plan to reopen schools safely. The group is made up of about 60 people, including teachers, doctors, students and parents.
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Parents should feel reassured that the task force is taking into account all of the available information to create an informed plan, Svatek said.
“Part of what we’re trying to do in the task force itself is answer those questions of their concerns and to also set metrics, so measures for when we know that it might be the safest time for them (students) to start returning to school,” she said.