Missouri governor: It's OK if kids get virus since 'they're going to get over it'

Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson said that he supports reopening schools, admitting that children “will” get COVID-19 but said it acceptable because “they’re going to get over it.”

“These kids have got to get back to school,” Parson said on Friday. “They’re at the lowest risk possible and if they do get COVID-19, which they will, and they will when they go to school, they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices in the day.”

“They’re going home and they’re going to get over it.”

Children infected with COVID-19 are at risk of developing an inflammatory syndrome related to the infection. Some who have gotten with the virus have developed blood clots and organ damage.

In Senate testimony about the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “I think we better be careful [that] we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune of the deleterious effects.”

From the July 17 edition of FM NewsTalk 97.1’s “The Marc Cox Morning Show”:

MARC COX, host: Gov. Mike Parson, my guest, I know governor you probably heard of the POWERplex, here in St. Louis County, up at the former Mills Mall, where they designed it as a youth sports complex. And this week our county executive has announced that youth sports are part of the problem and that he’s going to start shutting it down effective next week.

 

Now, I’m going to have Dan Buck on here shortly, who runs the POWERplex, he told me that out of 12,000 local athletes, there have been two reported cases of COVID. The facts don’t back up action like this.

 

MIKE PARSON: Yes.

 

COX: What do you do when you see local politicians overreacting to this situation?

 

PARSON: Yeah, you got to stop. Again, there’s data out there, there’s scientific evidence out about who this affects and who it doesn’t, and kids are the least likely to have a problem with this.

 

And the complex you’re talking about, I actually toured that and what a fantastic opportunity to have for youth.

 

But look, you can’t just – these kids have got to get back to school, they’re at the lowest risk possible, and if they do get COVID-19, which they will, and they will when they go to school, they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices in the day. They’re going home, and they’re going to get over it.

 

And most of it all proves out to be that way if you look at the science of it. And we’ve got to get real with that and realize that, you know, we’ve got to move forward.

 

The risk of not getting youth involved in activities, the risk of not putting them back in school, I guarantee you will create more problems than the virus will ever think about creating, long-term for our state.

 

So, we’ve got to figure this out, and we’ve got it balanced, but we’ve got to get life back to normal as we can get it there.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.