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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany received some criticism for comments made at her last press briefing. McEnany was discussing when schools could reopen during the coronavirus pandemic and backed up the Trump White House’s push to get kids back in school.
When saying why kids need to return to school, McEnany caused said “science should not stand in the way of this” which raised some eyebrows.
“The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. I was just in the Oval talking to him about that, and when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school,” she said. “The science should not stand in the way of this, and as Dr. Scott Atlas said — I thought this was a good quote — ‘Of course we can do this. Everyone in the Western world; our peer nations are doing this. We are the outlier here.’
“Look at the JAMA Pediatrics study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu. The science is on our side here, and we encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools. It’s very damaging to our children: There is a lack of reporting of abuse; there’s mental depressions that are not addressed; suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important, they’re essential, and they must reopen.”
Shortly after receiving backlash for her comments, McEnany said that they were taken out of context.
In context or not, the science should definitely contribute to whether schools open this fall. It may not be an ideal situation, but if schools are not safe for everyone who would be a part of making it work, then it’s best to delay the reopening until we are in the clear.
