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Studies show kids may be 'spreaders' of virus days after Reynolds cites study that found kids 'infrequently transmit COVID-19'

West Des Moines School officials said everything is on the table, including delaying start date, when looking at reopening plans.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Kids may be bigger spreaders of COVID-19 than first thought, according to new studies coming out in the United States. 

West Des Moines Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Remy said one thing she's learned during the coronavirus pandemic is to be flexible. 

"We constantly have to be nimble and, as we get more information, we have to be willing to shift," Remy said. 

Data seemingly changes by the minute. What's thought to be fact one day may be disproved the next. 

Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds cited a study that found kids spread COVID-19 at lower rates than adults. 

"Recent research published in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics concludes that children infrequently transmit COVID-19 to each other or adults," Reynolds said at a press briefing Thursday.

Thursday, state officials rolled out thresholds that need to be met before schools can move to 100% online learning. 

The same day those guidelines were released, JAMA, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association, released a study saying kids actually can carry the same amounts of the COVID-19 virus as adults. 

"Over the weekend, we had a lot of interesting studies coming out talking about the role of children in the transmission of COVID-19," said Dr. Rosanna Rosa, an infectious diseases specialist in Des Moines. 

Dr. Rosa said what was more concerning to her was a study coming out of Georgia showing transmission of COVID-19 among children at a summer camp. 

"It tells you what can happen when you put a lot of children together for a really long period of time, and you have them do activities that children do, how easily the virus can actually spread amongst this group of people as well," Dr. Rosa said. 

Remy said the latest Return to Learn guidance and the ever-changing data means everything is on the table when it comes to reopening plans for West Des Moines Schools. 

"Do we want to continue with the plan that we proposed and the board approved in July?" Remy said. "Or because of the new information that we have today that we didn't have a month ago, does that mean that we should look at a different option? Maybe that option is another hybrid approach, maybe it is looking at asking the state for a waiver to start fully online, even to the possibility of do we even talk about delaying the start date based on the positivity rate?" 

The West Des Moines School Board has a workshop scheduled Wednesday evening to discuss this further. 

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