Health officials worry about youth sports leading to COVID clusters

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With warnings about a fourth surge of the coronavirus, health officials say one factor fueling a spread could be linked to kids.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said youth sports tournaments and extracurricular activities are creating clusters where the virus can spread among children.

“We’re working to facilitate increased testing that is happening on the ground in the context of youth sports,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director.

A high school wrestling tournament in Florida was linked to 38 people who were infected.

In Minnesota, 68 cases were connected to youth sporting events.

Officials now believe the virus variants are playing a role in the spread, especially in kids.

“It’s acting differently from anything we’ve seen before, in terms of transmissibility, in terms of affecting young people, so we have to take this very seriously,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of Baylor’s College of Medicine.

While the CDC continues to revise its guidelines, the vaccination rate is growing for those over 18.

It’s also raising new questions about when kids might be able to be vaccinated.

At a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, laid out what parents of younger kids should expect.

“We anticipate to have enough data to vaccinate these younger children by the first quarter 2022,” said Fauci.

The CDC is especially concerned about indoor sports, telling some states they should restrict those activities for now.

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