Horowitz: The flat-earth ‘science’ behind shutting schools
I would argue that the risk of healthy people dying of COVID-19, as compared to the flu, is even more favorable than this data suggests, because nearly all of the deaths from COVID-19 are among those with several known conditions, whereas flu-related ICU admissions, with children placed on life support, as reported by doctors in New York City just this year, were observed among children who were not immunocompromised.
Nevertheless, if we use this data, it means children are nearly seven times more likely to die of the flu than of the coronavirus, yet de Blasio never thought of shutting the schools for the flu. In fact, in March, before this issue became political and common sense was still in order, de Blasio himself thought shutting the schools was a dumb idea. “What are these kids going to do?” de Blasio asked. “Do we really believe these kids will hole up in their rooms for a month?” Well, now he wants them to be holed up indefinitely for months.
What does he think will happen to the immune systems of healthy school-age children who are treated like bubble boys for months on end? Imagine what next year’s flu and cold season will bring.
New @FREOPP: There is no request I get more often than to compare the risk of fatality from #COVID19 vs. the flu by age bracket. So I’ve put one together, assuming 150,000 deaths from COVID vs. the 2007-17 average from influenza & pneumonia combined. https://t.co/jIgUu9EErY pic.twitter.com/dhGJSa79ER
— Avik Roy (@Avik) May 18, 2020