(NewsNation) — Five years after COVID-19 shut down schools nationwide, a new book argues the extended closures caused unnecessary harm to American students and were driven more by politics than science.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “Vargas Reports,” author David Zweig discussed his book “An Abundance of Caution,” which examines the lasting impact of school closures during the pandemic.
“Closing schools did not help anyone. It only harmed kids,” Zweig said Monday. “The evidence was clear before the pandemic; lots of academic literature explained why this would be the case.”
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Zweig highlighted that 22 European countries reopened schools in April and May 2020, months before most American schools resumed in-person learning. He said this evidence was “ignored or dismissed by our public health authorities and largely by the legacy media.”
The author cited an example of what he calls politically-motivated decision-making: when the American Academy of Pediatrics reversed its guidance supporting school reopenings shortly after then-President Donald Trump posted on social media advocating for schools to reopen.
“There was nothing that changed epidemiologically in that span of time for them to change the rules,” Zweig said. “It happened immediately after Trump’s tweet.”
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The book details various harms to children beyond academic setbacks, including increased child abuse cases that went unreported due to children being isolated from teachers who often identify and report abuse.
Zweig also discussed the impacts on extracurricular activities that provide crucial opportunities for disadvantaged students.
Zweig said medical professionals privately expressed concerns about school closures to him but feared speaking publicly against CDC guidance.
“I approach this topic apolitically. I’ve written for The New York Times,” Zweig said. “I am not a right-wing ideologue by any stretch.”
Studies now show American students suffered significant academic and emotional setbacks during the extended school closures compared to countries that reopened education systems earlier.
