Global school reopenings pose massive threat to children The global surge of the COVID-19 Delta variant, the most infectious so far, poses particular dangers to children who remain largely unvaccinated globally. Well aware of these risks, governments worldwide are nevertheless deepening their drive to fully open schools for the upcoming semester. Peyton Copeland, 5, was hospitalized with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Photo: (Twtiter/@Cleavon_MD via Tara Copeland) In Brazil, where the Gamma variant has been dominant and the Delta variant is now spreading rapidly, a July 20 report from Uol noted that COVID-19 has already killed 1,581 young people aged 10 to 19 in just the first six months of 2021, becoming the leading cause of death by disease for that age group. An additional 1,187 children under 10 years old have succumbed to the virus since the start of the pandemic, with Brazil experiencing the highest number of child fatalities from COVID-19 in the world.