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 </figure>Kansas First District Congressman Dr. Roger Marshall believes progress is being made in the fight against COVID-19, even as the case count rises."Of course, the number of new infections is going up," Marshall said. "It looks like this virus is getting weaker. We're treating it so much better."Dr. Marshall is optimistic that a vaccine is coming soon."We have two vaccines that are now through Phase II," Marshall said. "We're going to start manufacturing those right now and then they'll start Phase III. If one of them pans out, which we're hopeful, we'll probably have vaccines for high-risk people by November and by Christmastime, maybe for everybody."Marshall also believes kids should be back in school."Healthy children, if they catch the virus, the chances of them dying is one in a million," Marshall said. "If that's the risk, I think the benefits of going back to school outweigh the risk. We should respect the virus, don't get me wrong. I think that we have to respect the virus, just like if we're driving a car. We respect driving. Every day in Kansas, one or two people are dying from driving a car. Every day in Kansas, one or two people die from this virus."Marshall noted that the benefits of in person education, getting a nutritious lunch through the school lunch program and mitigating abuse risk with spending less time in the home in some cases, are all important as local and state officials weigh how to best open schools this fall.

Marshall: Virus getting weaker, vaccines look promising