Children do not drive the "transmission cycle" when it comes to the spread of coronavirus, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday, while defending President Donald Trump's call for children to return to school this fall.
"The president has been clear, (as) he says vulnerable populations among teachers should stay home," McEnany told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime," adding that Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield has said "on the record" that coronavirus "has little effect on kids."
"He said not only that but they are not driving the transmission cycle," said McEnany. "There was a study at schools in northern France that found that, despite COVID being in three schools, there was no transmission cycle that was driven. The schools were able to safely reopen, even in this COVID era.
Also, she insisted, "we know that, in California alone, there has not been a single death under the age of 18. Kids are not affected in the same way as the vulnerable populations which should stay home."
Show host Harris Faulkner, however, told McEnany that "we can agree to disagree until there's more science" about sending young people back to school. She also told her that in a new Axios poll, 71% of U.S. parents said it will be risky to send children back to school.
"On the Axios poll, we don't agree with how it was phrased," McEnany retorted. "It seems like it was trying to (them) to answer rather than accurately polling the nation. I think parents across the nation understand the science, the data, and the numbers."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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