Fact check: What role do kids play in spreading the coronavirus?

Washington CNN — In the debate over whether schools across the US should open in the fall, questions continue to be raised about how the coronavirus affects children. Proponents of reopening schools have argued that children have largely been spared the worst effects of the virus and have pointed to guidelines published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in late June that advocated for “all policy considerations for the coming school year with a goal of having students physically present in school.” When Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn was asked about reopening schools in Texas, one of the hotspots of the recent surge in cases – he told a local NBC affiliate Thursday that “we still don’t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others.” While some articles and blogs have ridiculed Cornyn for supposedly suggesting that kids couldn’t be infected by the virus, Cornyn’s communication director Drew Brandewie told CNN the senator “was questioning the degree to which children can catch it and THEN transmit it to others. He was not questioning whether children can catch it at all.” Brandewie also said that Cornyn was referring to a tweet from the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Scott Gottlieb, who wrote on Thursday that the “data clearly shows less likely to become infected and less likely to transmit infection.” “But IMHO,” Gottlieb continued “we need to have humility on this question and recognize we don’t fully understand all the risks; and while kids are less vulnerable, less risk doesn’t mean no risk.” Facts First: Cornyn’s statement is largely correct. “We know of the post-immune inflammatory disease … but it is very rare,” he said, adding that “in general, this virus does not cause significant illness in children.” Redfield also noted that, unlike influenza, “we really don’t have evidence that children are driving the transmission cycle” of the coronavirus. The NIH, Fauci mentioned, is currently studying 2,000 families to understand the rate of infection for children and “how often they infect their families.” During the testimony, Redfield also mentioned that the CDC is currently studying households to understand what role children play in passing the virus on.