Low-Income Children and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US

Abstract

reopened. During influenza outbreaks, reopening has been associated with the risk of epidemic resurgence. The best solution for the COVID-19 pandemic is not known. It has been suggested that children who test positive on serologic tests that identify IgG against SARS-CoV-2 could beadmittedtoschool.Itissupposedthatpositivitycouldallowtheidentificationofchildrenwhohavealreadybeeninfected,canbeconsidered protected, and can attend school without posing risks per se to other children. However, the use of this procedure can be strongly criticized. The sensitivity of the presently available antibody tests is suboptimal. Most children have an asymptomatic infection, and as the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection has been found to be greater the more serious the disease is, it seems likely that most children will have a low antibody titer that is inadequate for obtaining positivity on tests with relatively low sensitivity. 10 Moreover, even when IgG levels are measured, it is not possible to state whether children are protected or how long the protection may last. The antibody protective level and secondary immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are not known. Taken together, these factors seem to indicate that most children with IgG positivity cannot be identified and, even if identified, cannot be considered protected for the long term. Other criteria, such as a systematic adoption of face masks with some lessons on this issue and on all hygiene measures for COVID-19 prevention, screening with temperature measurements, or closing classrooms with infected students, must be followed when school is resumed.

Food Insecurity, the Home Food Environment, and Parent Feeding Practices in the Era of COVID‐19

“…Moving into the summer months and beyond, these initiatives and other safety net programs need our nation’s full support. Suggested approaches for addressing food insecurity and feeding low‐income children during COVID‐19 are well‐described elsewhere (5,33,34) and include amending policies to increase participation and benefits for nutrition safety net programs, innovative ways to provide meals through pickup or delivery, and elevating voices in communities that have been marginalized in order to learn how to best serve these populations. Furthermore, research funding and clinical interventions are essential to supporting evidence‐based obesity prevention and treatment programs that can help improve the health and well‐being of children who may have experienced substantial weight gain during this time.…”

The Health Of Us Adolescent Athletes During Covid-19 Related School Closures And Sport Cancellations

“…[23][24][25] Finally, experts have pointed out that the strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19 may impact youth to differing degrees based on socioeconomic characteristics. 26,27 It is imperative to recognize that adolescent athletes represent a large, unique population of students with specific health attributes; therefore, there is a great need to study and report the health of these individuals while also considering individual characteristics and attributes. The purpose of this study was to describe the mental health, physical activity and health-related quality of life of US adolescent athletes in May 2020 when school closures and sport cancellations were implemented.…”

Social Emotional Learning for Social Emotional Justice: A Conceptual Framework for Education in the Midst of Pandemics

“…Developing frameworks of SEL-SEJ is an especially difficult challenge in the face of online learning and the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is also more important than ever. The inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic (Dooley et al, 2020;Laster Pirtle, 2020) remind us that schools have always been more than sites of academic curriculum delivery. Schools can be constructed as places to nurture students and their communities physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually.…”