After these children are given the keys to communication, these keys are taken away. The door is locked, and their world goes dark. What had been an opportunity for community and reciprocity is now one for segregation and isolation. How can this be right?

The Cass Review of gender identity services for children and young people, a recent report in the U.K., has spurred many headlines and much debate, most of which tout the finding of “weak evidence” for gender-affirming care for children and teenagers. Advocates of such care reject the report as anti-trans, while critics hail it for finally outing such care as pseudoscience. However, much of the noise around gender-affirming care in pediatrics, and this report, is misleading and takes away from the substantive improvements needed to provide the best care for transgender youth.

Children are returning to classrooms amid another wave of Covid cases, but some public health leaders have leaned into the message that “most of us” can ignore the continued presence of Covid by taking just “a few basic steps,” such as staying up to date with vaccinations. “Most of us,” however, does not include families with young babies, among other groups for whom these steps are unavailable or insufficient.