And what about the kids? Children at a far higher risk from delayed or deferred care than they are from COVID, which poses almost no statistical risk to children. Still, pediatric procedures performed at Children’s Hospitals are included in the elective ban, as well. Minor procedures like hernia repairs, ear tubes, and tonsillectomies have been canceled, in addition to more life-saving surgeries, including kidney transplants. A 7-year-old boy in Washington suffering kidney failure has been put on dialysis indefinitely since his transplant was canceled in March. And he’s not alone. Another 16-year old boy is making the same mandated sacrifice. And these are just two cases unearthed by the media.
There are 120,000 elective pediatric surgical admissions per year. Every month the lockdown is extended, roughly 10,000 children in the United States, who are, again, at negligible risk for COVID, will have their surgeries indefinitely delayed or canceled.
The volume of neglected patients is substantial and includes patients now waiting to have brain tumors removed, transplants rescheduled, cancer excised, and pain eliminated.