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“Get Over It”: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Pilloried For Saying Vulnerable Children Will Be Totally Fine When They Catch COVID-19 At School

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On Friday, Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he expects children will contract COVID-19 when he sends them back to school, but they’ll just “get over it.” Parson’s cavalier attitude towards COVID-19 is dangerous – public health officials have cautioned younger people spread the virus just as much as older adults, and children have been hospitalized with symptoms similar to the deadly Kawasaki disease, which has been linked to COVID-19.


Parson was roundly criticized by Missourians, journalists, health care professionals, and even members of his own party:



  • Oversimplifying the situation or ignoring known medical realities doesn’t help anyone on any side of the issue. Take a note, Gov. Parson.Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-At-Large


  • “They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said of students contracting the coronavirus, apparently unaware that children go home to adult family members at the end of the school day.Chris D’Angelo, HuffPost reporter


  • The Governor of Missouri does not care about Missourians. Even if you believe kids should head back to school, the dismissive and uncaring tone here is horrible. Yashar Ali, New York Magazine/HuffPost contributor


  • Parson is wrong (some kids will die, not to mention teachers and staff and parents) and this quote is reprehensibleAaron Rupar, Vox reporter


  • This is something else.Josh Kraushaar, National Journal columnist


  • Holy shit. I figured this was a paraphrase or out of context. It’s neither.Charles Gaba, health care analyst


  • Dystopian.Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists


  • I’m ashamed for my homestate of Missouri with this clown in charge. Gov. Mike Parson, what about the kids who live with grandparents or immune-compromised family members? What about at-risk children & teachers? Where is the funding for proper safety protocols? You’re a joke.Beau Willimon, Missourian and president of Writer’s Guild of America, East


  • They are going to go home and infect their families. Smh. Claire McCaskill, NBC News analyst and former U.S. Senator from Missouri


Longtime Republican leader and commentator Bill Kristol also retweeted a comment blasting Parson for his reprehensible attitude towards COVID-19.


“Mike Parson’s cavalier attitude towards COVID-19 could cost Missourians their lives,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Christina Amestoy. “From the beginning of the pandemic, Parson has spread dangerous misinformation about the threat of the virus and refused to take his job seriously. He’s told Missourians COVID-19 is the same as any other virus, refused to wear a mask, and now, he claims kids just ‘get over it.’ Missourians deserve a leader who takes public health seriously and fights to protect their families.”