Doctor: Covid cases in kids are becoming more complicated. It's time for politicians to get out of our way

Dr. Susannah Hills, highlighting Texas and Florida, writes that children could be at higher risk for infection with both Covid and RSV as they return to school this year. While we wait for Covid-19 vaccines to be approved for kids younger than 12, political leaders must allow our school systems access to the essential protection of mask mandates. They must also facilitate strategies to help vaccinate every eligible person -- instead of obstructing these efforts.

As a pediatric airway specialist, I always dread RSV season, which typically begins in the fall and early winter. While RSV usually causes cold and flu-like symptoms, it also causes approximately 58,000 hospitalizations and 100 to 500 deaths in the US each year among children under the age of five. This year, RSV is peaking early, and data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been showing a rise in cases across the country since June.