children – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Children with Coronavirus Produce the Same Amount of Virus as Adults

David Posnett — Sun, 31 May 2020 05:40:57 +0000

We all know that kids seem protected against the coronavirus (SARS CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease. They rarely get ill, although there are reports of serious and deadly disease. A different issue, is whether children can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus and spread the disease to other age groups which are more likely to get seriously ill. It is a big issue since many communities are considering opening up the schools, especially for younger children, whose parents need to go back to work.

One question arose: might infected kids produce less virus than infected adults? This has now been addressed in an interesting paper from German/British Virology labs:

An analysis of SARS-CoV-2 viral load by patient age. By Terry C. Jones et al.

They examined viral load by real-time RT-PCR threshold cycle values (which is a relatively sophisticated method. And they looked at 3,712 COVID-19 patients of all ages.

They found no significant difference between any age categories including children: the viral loads in the very young did not differ significantly from those of adults:

This graph shows that patients (each represented by a single dot) spanned a spectrum of different viral loads (Y-axis) from log 10⁴ to log 10¹². That is a huge variation in viral load (which is expected) but importantly there is no statistical difference between any of the age groups (X-axis).

Note that the numbers of dots are less dense for kids up to 20 years-old and for 91-100 year-old persons. That is simply because there were fewer individuals in these age groups.

Patients were recruited From Jan.26 through April, 26, 2020: 59,831 patients in total, 3,712 (6.2%) had a positive RT PCR test.

Note that these individuals included all comers, both symptomatic and asymptomatic.

Children as Likely to Get Coronavirus as Adults, but Don’t Get Sick.

David Posnett — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 20:52:58 +0000

Does Your Kid Have to Wear a Mask Outside? The CDC is asking all adults to wear masks. But what about kids? By Tara Santora Apr 10 2020, 8:25 AM

Why is this question so important? If children were “immune” as suggested by Elon Musk, we could open up the schools and thus free the parents to return to work. It might boost the sagging economy. So goes the reasoning.

However, many experts disagree:

Children get infected at the same rates as adults:

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was thought that children are not getting infected with the coronavirus, but now it is clear that the amount of infection in children is the same as in adults,” explains Andrew Pollard, professor of pediatric infection and immunity at the University of Oxford. “It’s just that when they do get the infection they get much milder symptoms.

This opinion rests on research on people in Shenzhen, China, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections and data from their close contacts:

In total, they looked at 391 people with confirmed COVID-19 and 1,286 individuals who were in close contact.

The researchers’ aim was to find out whether close contacts of people with COVID-19 would test positive for SARS-CoV-2 (the name of the virus that causes the disease COVID-19). And would they transmit virus to their close contacts even when they presented no obvious symptoms?

The investigators found that children under 10 who were in close contact with people who had COVID-19 demonstrated a 7.4% infection rate — very similar to the 7.9% infection rate in adults.

However, the researchers also determined that children were less likely to develop symptoms, even though they seemed just as likely as adults to contract the virus.

“Kids are just as likely to get infected [as grownups] and they’re not getting sick,” notes co-author Justin Lessler, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, MD.

The researchers also report that people who lived with individuals who had diagnosed COVID-19 were more likely to develop the infection than other close contacts.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020

Whereas most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalization still occurs in this age group. Social distancing and everyday preventive behaviors remain important for all age groups as patients with less serious illness and those without symptoms likely play an important role in disease transmission.

A study from Wuhan in the New England Journal of Medicine: “Asymptomatic infections not uncommon” in children

The study describes 1391 children assessed and tested from January 28 through February 26, 2020, a total of 171 (12.3%) were confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection. They conclude: “In contrast with infected adults, most infected children appear to have a milder clinical course. Asymptomatic infections were not uncommon.² Determination of the transmission potential of these asymptomatic patients is important for guiding the development of measures to control the ongoing pandemic.”

Notes from a pediatrician colleague at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Seth Gordon:

I have found no antibody studies in children. (In case you need a primer on the different types of Coronavirus tests, check here). For the most part, children have been NEGLECTED from the beginning. This has been a tremendous oversight and continues to be a blindspot. Every parent knows children spread infection. They congregate in large groups and are the least hygienic among us. They don’t even make proper masks for children. Children have [likley] been a major vector of COVID-19 spread yet only about 1% of COVID-19 positive tests (RT-PCR swab tests which detect viral RNA) were performed on children. But I believe they represent the vast majority of actual infections. Early on, when I advocated for the closure of schools it was because I was detecting asymptomatic children who were COVID-19 positive. Isn’t this why our schools are closed? I don’t see any evidence that we solved or addressed this issue at all and I see daily evidence of new COVID-19 cases in children. How are we supposed to reassimilate children in schools or camps when we have so little knowledge and testing. It is not even known whether children will develop protective antibodies. This is a HUGE problem in my estimation. While most children do well it is not a universal truth. I have taken care of many sick children during the last two months. As a physician, I feel helpless and frustrated when I can not treat or cure a patient. When Doctor Oz endorses a 2-3% child mortality rate upon returning to school, it really leaves me bewildered as a pediatrician and a parent. If a second wave of COVID-19 comes as predicted, it may be driven by non-immune children in Nov/Dec getting infected and spreading infections to adults again. So it is important to determine the immune status of children BEFORE we return them to school. This way we can make informed decisions.

I would like to add a comment:

If we study the apparent natural resistance in children to the disease (COVID-19), we might gain important knowledge that will help those adults that don’t have that resistance, those that end up in the ICU and on the ventilators. The first step is to test all children, not only adults. Testing and contact tracing is key. It is key to economic recovery too.

Stop the Tears Rally

David Posnett — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 23:35:15 +0000

Zero Tolerance is still happening. Propublica just published this story:

“A Defendant Shows Up in Immigration Court by Himself. He’s 6.”

Earlier today various concerned citizen groups held a rally to protest the continuing separation of families at the border.

Dr. Eve Krief is a pediatrician on Long Island. She writes:

WHY WE RALLY: It’s easy to get distracted by the Mueller Investigation, by planning for control of the House, by pushing for a progressive agenda in NY State. But we must pause for a moment and think about the children suffering right now because of this administration’s horrific policies. We must not forget them. We must keep up the pressure.

Children were tear gassed at the border violating US humanitarian policy and harming children
An unprecedented 14,000 children are being held in detention indefinitely. Parents and relatives are afraid to come forward to care for them because of the administration’s zero tolerance policy. Pediatricians know that no time in detention is appropriate for children. They should be in loving community settings.
Detention facility staff is not required to have FBI clearance, which the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics has said puts the children in danger.
We have learned that the administration is still indiscriminately separating children from their parents
Our country has virtually locked our borders to asylum seekers escaping dangerous and life threatening situations. THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT OUR COUNTRY TO BE. WE MUST MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD. Please join us in protest.

Child Abuse (Human Rights Violation)

David Posnett — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 16:15:26 +0000

Submitted by James Ewing (Watermill):

IMAGES
We want you to imagine for a moment what this might be like for a child: to flee the place you have called your home because it is not safe to stay and then embark on a dangerous journey to an unknown destination, only to be ripped apart from your sole sense of security with no understanding of what just happened to you or if you will ever see your family again. And that the only thing you have done to deserve this, is to do what children do: stay close to the adults in their lives for security.

The zero-tolerance policy was announced on April 6.
Nationwide, nearly 2,000 minors were taken from their parents from April 19 through May 31, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security.
“…the children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.”
Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.

“At minimum, forced separation will cause these children extreme emotional distress…the sadness is not the thing that really matters here. What matters is this is a trauma to the developing nervous system.”
Nim Tottenham of Columbia University.
“Extreme emotional responses to separation from parents is part of evolution’s plan to keep those parents close — to break any parent’s heart, because throughout human evolution, an absent caregiver has meant almost certain death.
Megan Gunnar University of Minnesota.…

When faced with separation from loved ones, “we fight as if it’s a matter of life and death, because it is.”
Jude Cassidy University of Maryland.
“…little minds and hearts can maintain that level of distress only for so long before the children face a horrifying decision: Continue, through severe emotional pain, to call out for their parents, or proceed on the assumption that their parents are gone…
James Coan University of Virginia

We are all being made complicit in child abuse by this administration.

Comments added by David Posnett:

Here is Zeldin’s response:

(UAC: Unaccompanied Alien Children)

Lee Zeldin contact info: (202) 225 3826, (631) 289 1097. Congressmanzeldin1@mail.house.gov

I am sure he would like to hear from you!

Perry Gershon for Congress

𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐙𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐎𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝

Zeldin finally took a position on family separation at the border. As expected, he is supporting the cruel Trump policy. We need to replace Zeldin this November. Taking children away from their parents does not just apply to people attempting to cross the border without documentation. Our government is separating the children of asylum seekers too – these people with zero purported criminal activity. We cannot allow this to happen and be silent. And Zeldin cheers the policy. I pledge to fight this policy to all my ability if elected in November, and ask for your support on June 26 to help me get there.

If you want more color on the trump policy, this link describes it better. https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17443198/children-immigrant-families-separated-parents

“Children and Parents will be Separated”

David Posnett — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 02:18:22 +0000

Jeff Sessions: Children and parents will be separated

Contributed by James Ewing:

Dear friends,

Are you as appalled as I am at the forcible removal of children from their parents at the U.S./ Mexico border? This egregious form of state sponsored child abuse tears at the very heart and soul of our nation.

Here is something we all can do in addition to calling our members of congress and petitioning: send shoes and clothing to Jeff Sessions for these children being held in kiddie concentration camps. The Border Patrol and ICE just do not have enough infant-sized orange jump suits for the more than 12,000 children being held behind bars.

Look through your closets for clothing and shoes that your children or grandchildren have outgrown. Make a visit to thrift stores or yard sales and make up a care package. Send it to the children in care of Jeff Sessions.

What if he were to receive a million packages? Or ten million? Please share widely.

Refugee children

c/o U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20530-0001.

_______________________________________________
PoetryLovers mailing list
PoetryLovers@lists.sonic.net
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Note (D. Posnett): apparently there is a rift among Repulicans with Ryan and others (?) breaking with the White House on the policy of separating kids from their parents. Where does Zeldin stand on this issue?

Zeldin Votes to Hurt Hungry Constituents

David Posnett — Fri, 18 May 2018 23:32:47 +0000

The “Farm Bill” is generally known as the biggest safety net for millions of farmers across the country. But it also includes the Supplemental Nutrition Program — known as SNAP or “food stamps”. Last year, 40 million people used the program, totaling about $70 billion in spending.

Republicans and Trump want strict work requirements for people who receive those benefits, a plan all Democrats reject. That left House leaders searching for conservative votes.

The GOP rebellion Friday came from two groups, fiscal conservatives opposed to the high level of government spending in the farm bill and a group of more than two-dozen representatives who threatened earlier this week to block the farm bill until they were guaranteed a vote on immigration and border security.

The Congressional Black Caucus claimed the work requirements would “ensure that more Americans go hungry,” claiming the GOP changes to SNAP would result in 2 million people losing access to food stamps.

Eve Krief is a Suffolk county activist and she points out that Lee Zeldin should be held accountable for voting for the failed bill. It would have

HURT 15,621 HUNGRY HOUSEHOLDS IN HIS DISTRICT!!
Look at the following table under the heading SNAP (Food Stamps)

15,621 SNAP households
5,740 SNAP Households with children
8,079 SNAP households with elderly
67% SNAP households (2 or more people) who worked in 2015

Source: Fiscalpolicy.org

This legislation was defeated. But we were clearly lucky to have benefited from a rebellion within the Republican ranks. The issue may resurface.

Single mothers with newborn babies, and no income, are at the highest risk!

Lee Zeldin’s inhumane vote is here to stay. Let’s remind him in November.

Holocaust Seen Through the Eyes of a Child

David Posnett — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 19:11:21 +0000

Letter published in the Newburyport News, Massachusetts, by Steve Ludsin of R&R

Very moving’ article about local author’s book, Oct 12, 2017

To the editor:

The article “Local author writes about Holocaust through her father’s eyes” by Dyke Hendrickson, [Daily News, Oct. 10] was very moving. It is true that for many Jews with a European background, the past is never the past.

Margaret A. McQuillan’s recent book, “An Orange in Winter: The Beginning of the Holocaust as Seen Through the Eyes of a Child“, written about a child who was her father was an emotional challenge. I am also a child of a Holocaust survivor and I know the additional stress that can create. I have begun to explore the studies about the possible inheritance of post-traumatic stress syndrome through the DNA from the traumatized parent.

The need to remember the evil of the Holocaust is self-evident, particularly when there is a tendency to forget and in the face of the heated rhetoric from the alt-right movement. I think the author’s goal to portray oppression eight decades ago to young people today will help to rebut the threatening words of people who exclaim you will not replace us with chants of “Blood and soil”. The flame of remembrance should not be extinguished.

Steven A. Ludsin, East Hampton, N.Y. The writer was a member of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and the first U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council that built the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Comment from D. Posnett MD:

The medical and psychology literature is replete with studies on the epigenetic effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome, which can be inherited. In lay language: DNA (inheritance of specific genes) is the Christmas tree, while “epigenetics” is the decorations we put on the tree. Curiously, there is mounting evidence that sometimes these decorations become part of the tree itself and subsequent generations of the trees grow with the decorations!!!

A PubMed search for “epigenetics post-traumatic stress syndrome” came up with 48 articles, 27 of them were reviews.

Examples:

The epigenetic impacts of social stress: how does social adversity become biologically embedded? Cunliffe VT. Epigenomics. 2016 Dec;8(12):1653-1669. Epub 2016 Nov 21.
Epigenetic Alterations Associated with War Trauma and Childhood Maltreatment. Ramo-Fernández L, Schneider A, Wilker S, Kolassa IT. Behav Sci Law. 2015 Oct;33(5):701-21.