KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri National Education Association issued a strong rebuke of Gov. Mike Parson’s assertion that children in the state will simply “get over” COVID-19 after returning to school.
Missouri NEA President Phil Murray said Parson’s comments showed “callous disregard” for the people — including children, but also school faculty and staff, parents and grandparents — who will be put at risk “if schools are reopened with improper plans and protections.”
Parson went on the Marc Cox Morning Show last Friday and was asked about children and the coronavirus.
“These kids have got to get back to school,” Parson said. “They’re at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will and they will when they go to school, they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices all day. They’re going to go home, and they’re going to get over it.”
However, some children do experience significant complications from a COVID-19 infection — including the rare Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome, which can seriously damage the heart and other organs.
But children also live with parents, siblings and grandparents, who might be more susceptible to serious complications or even death from a coronavirus infection.
Many faculty and staff at schools also are older, which puts them at higher risk of falling seriously ill, or have other health factors that also put them at greater risk for complications.
“When the Governor says that children are ‘gonna get over it,’ he forgets that some children won’t,” Murray said. “He forgets that some children will be left with life-long health problems and some children will lose their lives. He forgets the parents, grandparents, educators and other children who will become sick and will suffer unnecessarily.”
Murray said he wants schools to reopen, but that Parson’s “inaccurate and reckless statement should concern every Missourian.”
“Yes, reopening schools is vital to the health and well-being of our children and communities, but it must be done responsibly,” Murray said. “That includes ensuring our educators are given the desperately needed resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Educators are constantly told to do more with less at a time when our schools need the necessary resources to protect students. Already this year, communities have seen over $250 million in cuts to local schools all while the Governor found $15 million to advertise Missouri as a tourist destination in the midst of a pandemic.”
Parson said Monday after a meeting with Kansas City area leaders that his comments about children getting sick were “taken out of context.”
