COVID-19 Policy Update #155
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 11/23
Some background for those who joined the list last week. Some time ago, Julie Mikuta told me that she needed to pour herself a drink while reading the updates. Around that time I also noticed that the Monday updates were getting long, in large part to the news that developed over the weekend. So we've started the tradition of adding a drink pairing to the Monday updates. Greg Richmond reached out last week wanting to take it up a notch: "Hey, so why don’t I get those wines delivered to my house along with these emails? Perhaps you could create a Premium subscription model. Just sayin." Brilliant idea - just need to find a sponsor. If someone's interested, just email Teddy who also serves as our sommelier.
This Monday's update falls on the week of Thanksgiving. As such, it pairs well with:
As a bonus, it also pairs well with this Pancetta Sage Turkey. I'm told that wine + pancetta counters the effects of tryptophan.
TOP THREE
60 Minutes: Did a segment of the dramatic drop in student enrollments.
"60 Minutes compiled enrollment data from 78 of the largest school districts in the country. The results were alarming - districts reported that when school started, at least 240,000 students were unaccounted for."
COVID Collaborative: The COVID Collaborative issued a number of announcements today:
The Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s $50 million vaccination education campaign
COVID Collaborative and its partners NAACP, UnidosUS and Langer Research released the results of a survey on vaccine hesitancy in the Black and Latinx communities.
Ten Ways to Make Online Learning Work
Authored by all the former US Directors of Educational Technology: Linda Roberts, John Bailey, Karen Cator, Richard Culatta, Tim Magner, Susan Patrick, Joseph South, and Katrina Stevens
Forward by Former U.S. Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan, John King, Rod Paige, Richard Riley, and Margaret Spellings
Mask Up America Toolkit for the Governors was launched with the Ad Council and IDSA
The State of the Crisis data and trends from Johns Hopkins provides up-to-date information
Politics, Science and the Remarkable Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine: Amazing NYT piece on the story of how the government, researchers, and private sector worked together to produce a vaccine. More of this please. Let's have a Warp Speed for Learning Loss and Warp Speed for Economic Mobility.
"Its leaders discussed the book “Freedom’s Forge,” an account of how American industry armed the military in World War II, and imposed what they called a “battle rhythm” of meetings, including a daily 8 a.m. session on vaccines. Dozens of military officers reported to work in uniform."
"It got expertise, too. Operation Warp Speed had created six teams of around 15 clinical trial specialists, epidemiologists and budget experts, each assigned to a different vaccine maker."
"When Moderna discovered this summer that an air handling unit for its factory could not be delivered over a weekend because of Covid-19 limitations on interstate trucking, the major’s team stepped in. Warp Speed officials arranged a law enforcement escort to accompany the massive piece of equipment from the Midwest to its Massachusetts manufacturing plant."
"The team again sprang into action when Moderna discovered that a specialized pump, needed to make the first batches of vaccine for the clinical trials, was marooned in a rail car and was not going to be delivered on time. Federal workers tracked down the train and rummaged through it until they found the pump. They put it on a plane, and it arrived on time,” Mr. Andres, the company’s operations chief, said."
On Sunday morning, Nov. 8, Dr. Bourla headed to Pfizer’s office in Cos Cob, Conn., to hear the verdict with a few top aides. “I couldn’t sleep very much,” he said. A Pfizer statistician, who was walled off from the rest of the company, was to deliver the news from the data monitoring board in a video conference. "We had a very good result,” the man announced in the early afternoon. He said Pfizer should immediately ask the F.D.A. to grant it emergency use authorization — a step the firm took on Friday. The room erupted in cheers. Executives hugged, ignoring social distancing rules."
FEDERAL
White House: Friday's Coronavirus Task Force briefing included several education items:
Vice President: "President Trump wanted me to make it clear that our task force, this administration and our president does not support another national lockdown, and we do not support closing schools. The White House is committed to providing resources so our kids, our teachers, and our administrators can safely get back to school."
CDC Director Redfield: The infections that we’ve identified in schools when they’ve been evaluated were not acquired in school. They were actually acquired in the community and in the household. The truth is, for kids K-12, one of the safest places they can be, from our perspective, is to remain in school, and it’s really important that following the data, making sure we don’t make emotional decisions about what to close and what not to close. I’m here to say clearly the data strongly supports that K-12 schools — as well as institutes of higher learning — really are not where we’re having our challenges.”
ED: The Department is planning on issuing within the next two weeks a Request for Information on Expanding Work-based learning that would seek information on approaches to expanding such learning opportunities and what barriers exist that have contributed to the decline in youth employment.
Economic Relief Package:
The WSJ Editorial writers praise Treasury's decision last week to have the Federal Reserve return the unused CARES Act funds: "The Fed also stood up facilities, without Cares Act money, for commercial paper, money-market funds, and primary dealer credit. The programs worked. Even as the pandemic and government shutdowns have waxed and waned, financial markets have healed. Lending spreads have fallen, and liquidity is ample in nearly all markets."
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is attempting to revive stalled pandemic relief talks with congressional Democrats by proposing the use of untapped Federal Reserve relief money as part of a new package. McConnell backed the proposal to use $580 billion allocated for Federal Reserve loan guarantees, small business aid and other aid programs that is unspent.
Biden advisors are pushing for Democratic Congressional leaders to reach a quick stimulus deal with Senate Republicans, even if it falls short of the larger package Democrats have been seeking.
Warp Speed:
Moncef Slaoui said the first set of Americans could begin receiving a vaccine in the second week of December. "Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours from the approval, so I would expect maybe on day two after approval, on the 11th or on the 12th of December, hopefully, the first people will be immunized across the United States, across all states, in all the areas where the State Departments of Health will have told us where to deliver the vaccine."
Children are likely to receive vaccines in the spring of 2021.
Transition Is Official: The GSA officially authorized the transition this evening.
Transition: Nominees announced today:
Secretary of State: Tony Blinken
Secretary of Treasury: Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman, Janet Yellen
Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines
Department of Homeland Security Secretary: Alejandro Mayorkas
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Special presidential envoy on climate: John Kerry
National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan
Some notes on the nominees:
All nominees are Obama alumni.
Tim Adams, President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, "Janet Yellen is an extraordinary choice for Treasury Secretary, and should be swiftly confirmed by the Senate. She is a world class economist and dedicated public servant, and will be a trusted, steady, and pragmatic hand on the helm as the U.S. navigates the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
A bit of trivia on Avril Haines: she's a brown belt in judo and also built a plane, married her flight instructor, flew it across the Atlantic and had to do an emergency landing in bad weather.
Alejandro Mayorkas would be the first Latino to head DHS. He was also instrumental in developing DACA.
Broadband Biden: Via Axios: "The FCC could, for instance, move quickly to expand broadband subsidies for schools and libraries to cover in-home internet, as agency veteran Amina Fazlullah notes in a paper for the Day One Project, a bipartisan group."
Biden on School Reopening: Biden was wrapping up a meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer on Friday when CBS's Bo Erickson asked if Biden would urge teachers to allow kids to return to class. 'Why are you the only guy who shouts questions?' Biden said in response
NEA Playbook: Released recommendations in 27 different issue areas for the Biden-Harris administration. Among the recommendations are
A call for waiving federal statewide summative assessment requirements;
Banning federal funding for charter schools, charter school authorizers, and charter school management companies that are not authorized by local school districts;
Increase funding for the Full-Service Community Schools Program;
Create robust, universal, and well-funded testing and contact tracing systems;
A call for $175 billion in additional emergency COVID funding;
Advocate for effective social and emotional learning (SEL) programming for preK–12.
Support SEL programming based on the understanding that best learning emerges through supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful.
Support the six recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development report, "From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope," as well as the action agenda.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
COVID:
Nearly a quarter of all the coronavirus cases in the US were reported in November
The US reported record hospitalizations for the 12th straight day.
53 hospitals have begun to suspend elective procedures to respond to an uptick in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine: Announced that its vaccine reduced the risk of COVID infection by 70%. But there's a bit of a twist. People who received two “full” doses had a 62% efficacy rate, while those who received a half dose followed by a full dose one month later saw a 90% efficacy rate. So while they headline is the average of 70% - which by itself is extraordinary and well above the success cutoff criteria set by the EU and US - there's reason to believe it could be much higher. The vaccine is 1/10th the cost of other vaccine candidates and can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures for up to six months. More here.
Vaccine Innovation: Moderna and Pfizer are reinventing vaccines using a new gene-based technology that could help fight a range of diseases.
Public Sentiment: Via AEI:
Two-thirds say it should be mandatory to wear a mask in public (Yahoo! News/YouGov).
Americans are more likely to get a vaccine that has been on the market for a few months versus one that has just come out (Axios/Ipsos).
Trust in Scientists: NBER paper "Revenge of the Experts: Will Covid-19 Renew or Diminish Public Trust in Science?" with some worrisome conclusions:
"However, it will reduce trust in individual scientists, worsen perceptions of their honesty, and weaken the belief that their activities benefit the public."
" It suggests individuals feel that scientists, being self interested and human, can be unduly influenced by government and corporate agendas, or because they feel that scientists’ conclusions are based on personal beliefs and data"
Paying People to Be Tested: We'll hopefully learn something from this experiment: Hong Kong will give a one-time HK$5,000 ($645) payment to anyone in the city who tests positive for Covid-19 to encourage people to take tests for the virus.
STATE
Alabama: The State superintendent wants schools to remain in-person.
Arizona: The A for Arizona Small Learning Community Grant application closes in one week.
California: More than 200 students from West Contra Costa Unified School District received turkeys, groceries and their required school immunizations at a drive-thru clinic last week.
Colorado: Announced a $15 million grant to help schools reopen.
Florida: Online learning students must take statewide exams in-person at public schools.
Indiana: Batesville Community Schools is on track to finish the school year with in-person learning.
Kentucky: The state's attorney general joined a federal lawsuit against governor's order halting in-person learning.
New York:
The 74 with additional details on NYC closing schools and parent protests.
Catholic schools suing NYC DOE over COVID testing for students.
60,000 public school students in NYC still don’t have devices eight months into this crisis.
INTERNATIONAL
Italy: Anita Iacovelli has been sitting outside her school in the northern city of Turin since Nov. 6 to protest the region’s decision to stop classroom learning again. Anita’s protest has been picked up by the ‘Priorita al Scuola’ movement, a collective of Italian teachers and students who want kids back in classrooms after months of studying alone at home. More here.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Interesting Way of Building Consumer Confidence: Alaska Airlines is hosting a webinar with experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine. Topics will include the latest research on vaccines and "strategies for protecting ourselves and each other."
Drives: Facebook launches ‘Drives,’ for collecting food, clothing and other necessities for people in need. More via TechCrunch.
Eight Mayors: We need a Marshall Plan for Middle America: Oped from the mayors of Pittsburgh; Youngstown, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Huntington, W.Va.; Morgantown, W.Va.; and Louisville.:
"Every four years, voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky are told how important they are to American industry, but once the election is over, nothing happens."
The Surprisingly Strong U.S. Consumer: Via Axios: Americans' disposable income was $15.7 trillion per year in September, up significantly from its pre-crisis level. Average earnings are $29.50 per hour, up from $28.69 in March. "The total amount borrowed has fallen, partly because Americans managed to save 14.3% of their income in September. That's roughly double the pre-crisis savings rate. And credit card balances are plunging."
LEARNING PODS
Employer Sponsored Tutoring: Via Marketplace:
"PWC allows employees to reduce their hours, compress work weeks into four days or take a partially paid sabbatical for up to six months. It doubled emergency childcare subsidies and offers online learning resources for kids."
Bank of America is paying $75-$100 a day toward childcare for eligible employees, Dell Technologies offers small group learning pods and Ford motor company provides an hour of free tutoring a week and a virtual study hall kids can call into, staffed by Ford volunteers."
Using Retail Spaces: Transforming vacant storefronts into learning pods could provide more equitable access to education for local communities.
RESOURCES
Liability Protection Issues for Schools: "Some insurers are adding riders to policies for coronavirus coverage, but the price tag can be considerable. Districts in Arizona, for instance, are being charged an additional $5,000 to $150,000 based on size for coverage that will pay out up to $1 million per outbreak." More here.
GAO: Released a new report "Distance Learning: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19."
Homework Gap: New America published a report titled "The Online Learning Equity Gap: Innovative Solutions to Connect All Students at Home" which explores issues related to the homework gap and includes a few policy recommendations.
Public Education Opportunity Grants: Additional details from CAP on their proposal for a new grant program that would:
Increase funding for education to create a baseline of quality for all schools.
Target the distribution of new investments to districts with the highest poverty rates in all 50 states.
Provide incentives for states and districts to improve their funding systems.
Improve equitable distribution of educational resources and opportunities across and within school districts.
ReinventED Student Council: The Governance Lab with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is organizing an effort where students serve as leaders to amplify the voices of their fellow students, families, and educators to impact important education policy. If selected, students will serve as paid members of the ReinventED council that will advise on, design and run large-scale, online public engagements on education, interact with leading decision makers in education, and have the opportunity to make a lasting impact. They are looking for up to 15 students from ages 14 to 21 to participate in the ReinventED Council.
Data Heroes of Covid Tracking Project Are Still Filling U.S. Government Void: Great BusinessWeek story on the Covid Tracking Project.
Mindfulness: Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help children during COVID.
AI Faces: The NYT used an AI system that trained itself on thousands of faces on Flickr. The AI system produced incredibly realistic fake human faces. Take some time to visit the NYT interactive which allows you to change the gender, age, and race of the faces. Nothing to do with COVID or education but truly fascinating.
Student Test Scores Drop in Math: Renaissance Learning Inc released an analysis that included more than two million students tested in math and three million in reading in 50 states. "For many students, the amount of learning lost in math equals roughly the amount of time schools were shut in spring."
Cut Off: School closings leave rural students isolated
Navajo Nation: Story about how children are struggling with school closures.
School Reopenings: Will Flanders asks, "Are teachers unions influencing virtual schooling more than pandemic science?"
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty study examined the initial reopening decisions of 415 of the 422 school districts in Wisconsin. Thirty-six school districts, or roughly 9 percent, started the school year fully virtual. Approximately 81 percent of those districts had a teachers union, compared with slightly less than 50 percent of all districts in the state. And these numbers aren’t simply correlational — after the inclusion of a host of control variables, the findings still hold.
Excited For Thanksgiving: Like a puppy and a baby.