Hospitals Prepare For Spikes As School Year Starts

Hospitals in the South and Midwest are preparing for surges of the Delta COVID variant among children as the school year gets underway. 

Hospitals are hiring more nurses, adding more protocols and are laying out plans for bed capacity as more kids head back to class.  

The former head of the FDA says schools need to learn how to control outbreaks early on. 

"With masks, with proper ventilation, keeping kids in defined social pods, I think the combination of those two measures can create a safer environment, not a safe environment," said Dr. Scott Gottlieb. "Schools aren't inherently safe, but they can be more safe without putting, putting large groups of students in quarantine." 

Kids under the age of 12 are not eligible to get a COVID vaccine  and the vaccination rates for children between 12 and 17 remain low.