New local initiative hopes to get children tested for COVID-19 at a higher rate

New initiative looking to test children for COVID-19 at a higher rate

A new local initiative is seeking to test children at a higher rate for COVID-19 in Houston. FOX 26's Chelsea Edwards has more.

HOUSTON - As schools try to figure out reopening plans, testing students for COVID-19 is getting more attention.

“Parents can do everything under the sun, but still your children may be exposed to something, COVID-19 heaven forbid,” says Cynthia Cole, Executive Director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1550.

She was invited to speak at a press conference launching a testing initiative for children by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on Saturday.

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“There is no doubt that children can get COVID-19,” says Lee. “We have just seen that a newborn baby got COVID-19 from the placenta of the mom.”

According to the CDC, cases of coronavirus in kids have been steadily increasing from March to July, along with hospitalization rates although those remain low compared to adults.

“Testing children must be a priority. We cannot rest on the fact that cases among children are mild. ‘Only a few children may die.’ There is a lack of humanity attached in such remarks,” adds Lee.

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A study by Children’s National Hospital also puts children in minority neighborhoods at higher rates of infection. It includes areas like the testing site at Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church in east Houston where Lee’s initiative was announced.

So far, the move doesn’t mean designated sites or changes in how children are tested.

“My effort will be integrating them, putting them as first in line for the sites that we have,” says Lee.

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With several coronavirus testing sites already established at schools, local leaders want children to get checked as often as possible.

“We value our kids as much as our athletes,” says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, “and our athletes are being tested on a weekly basis if not more frequently.”

The push requires more federal funding for testing which has been requested under the HEROES Act, but while Houston has surge sites up and running, supporters of the new initiative want little noses to get in line before getting back in class.