More Kids Are Getting COVID-19, Kentucky Pediatrician Says

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A pediatrician in Kentucky says she’s seeing an increase of children with COVID-19. Cases are spiking for people all ages across the country. Research suggests that in-person schooling is not a significant reason.

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Still, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear last week ordered most K-12 schools to stop any in-person instruction through the end of the semester as cases rise.

Hawse says there is «no good option for schools.»

«There are very few options that serve both a child’s academic health and their social health and their physical health,» she says. School lunch programs, after-school programs and special education services are examples of the benefits of in-person schooling that kids can’t get online.

For parents, Hawse echoes what she’s told her own children.

«We’re not going to probably make great leaps and bounds academically this year, and that’s got to be OK. We’ve got to give one another some grace. We are living through a pandemic.»

Ashley Westerman and Kelley Dickens produced and edited the audio interview.