MSNBC analyst argues omicron 'more severe' in children than adults
Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding pushed back against ending mask mandates
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MSNBC contributor Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding became the latest guest to claim the omicron coronavirus variant could pose a serious threat to school children.
On Wednesday, Feigl-Ding appeared on "The Mehdi Hasan Show" on Peacock to discuss the rollback of mask mandates in some Democrat-run states. Although even CNN contributor Dr. Leana Wen has suggested this may be the time to end mask mandates, Feigl-Ding pushed back.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post published an opinion piece condemning parent’s rights. ( )
"I vehemently disagree," Feigl-Ding said.
"We know many schools don’t have masks, so where there are masks, that is in certain ways the stopgap against transmission," he explained. "And we know that with omicron, it’s actually more severe in children than in adults."
On Feb. 2, fellow MSNBC guest Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel made a similar claim on "Andrea Mitchell Reports" when he suggested that unvaccinated children would be "likely" to get a "serious" case of omicron.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"With the omicron variant, kids are either going to get the vaccine or they’re likely to get a serious condition of omicron. Having omicron with the vaccine is almost invariably going to be better and safer for children," Emanuel said.
This claim was lambasted by critics as "fearmongering" for pushing a theory that had "zero evidence."
A New York teacher gives a lesson to masked students in their classroom at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 last September. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Similarly, several Twitter users criticized Feigl-Ding for pushing "Covid misinformation."
Lurie Children's hospital registered nurse Carolyn Ruyle prepares a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Lurie Children's hospital. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
According to a study from Reuters, children were actually less likely to be getting sick from omicron than other variants. Overall, children have been less likely to get severely ill or hospitalized from COVID-19 than other age groups. In addition, omicron was found to create less severe infections than other variants across all age groups.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.