CDC director says he ‘absolutely’ would send his grandkids back to school

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said Wednesday that he would “absolutely” send his grandchildren back to school in the fall amid concerns about the pandemic.

“It’s not public health versus opening the school versus reopening schools and the economy. It’s public health versus public health,” Redfield said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Redfield added that there are several negative public health consequences of having schools closed.

When asked if he would be comfortable sending his school-age grandchildren to school in the fall, Redfield responded “absolutely,” with the exception of one grandchild who has a medical condition.

.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: @CDCDirector Dr. Robert Redfield on how bad the COVID-19 crisis could get. “It is very hard to predict.”https://t.co/aQQ6s3kY6z pic.twitter.com/PbiMPVNNHQ

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 22, 2020

The CDC issued guidelines for reopening schools earlier this year, which the president has said are “very tough” and expensive. Plans to bring additional guidelines have reportedly been delayed.

“It’s so important now to work with school districts to see how they can take our guidelines and operationalize them in a practical way,” Redfield said.

Top Trump administration officials have signaled they see the resumption of in-person classes as a top priority. President Trump previously threatened to defund schools that did not reopen for fall classes.

Vice President Pence said during a press briefing Tuesday that, if they were still school-aged, he “wouldn’t hesitate” to send his kids back to in-person classes despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases.