'A very minor risk': DeSantis flubs attempt to make excuses for surge in COVID cases among kids

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has a new claim regarding the surge in COVID cases among children. On Wednesday, August 11, the Republican governor appeared for a press conference where he defended his executive order banning mask mandates across the state.

When asked about the rise in COVID cases among children, DeSantis described the virus as a "minor risk." He also claimed to have been told that the illness most seen among children right now is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV); not COVID.

"COVID, I view as a very minor risk," DeSantis said. "RSV is a little more serious and it just shows certain things that are focused on versus not. I've had doctors tell me that parents have come in with kids who were sick that have gotten a negative COVID test and a positive RSV and the parents were relived at that."

Despite DeSantis' RSV claims, the state of Florida leads the nation when it comes to the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19. Last week, Internal Medicine Physician Dr. Aftab Khan shed light on the rise in cases and hospitalizations among children. According to WESH, more children, namely those with comorbidities, are becoming ill with more severe symptoms of COVID.

"Infection rate in children is over 19%. Currently, according to the department of health and human services, we have 172 children admitted in the state of Florida," Dr. Khan said.

"In our previous iteration of the pandemic, it was more they're positive but they're not sick or minimally sick," Ford said of the pandemic's changing impact on children. "This is different. ... There's a much higher percentage of pediatric patients becoming infected and symptomatic."

He added, "The children who have underlying conditions like diabetes and asthma, they can develop serious illnesses and end up in the hospital with pneumonia."

According to CBS News, "children now account for nearly 15% of all new infections nationwide. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is pushing for the Food and Drug Administration to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11."