COVID-19 Policy Update #185
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 1/25
Quite a lengthy update tonight with new variants, a COVID testing proposal, COVID relief negotiations, and CPS still struggling to reopen. Tonight's update pairs with Mira's Aquaoir. You are not an ordinary reader and this is no ordinary red wine. The good folks at Mira decided to experiment with the aging process. They submerged the wine in the Charleston Harbor where it would be subjected to a constant temperature of 55 degrees with the addition of motion, pressure and total darkness. The question was if this would impact any unique characteristics to the wine. Many said yes - some even reporting that it tasted more "aged" than the control group wine. Unfortunately, additional production was halted due to Federal Government regulations (instead of taking this on a "case-by-case" basis).
TOP THREE
Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Las Vegas Schools to Reopen: Via NYT
An alert system also flagged more than 3,000 potential suicide risks based on student writing on school-issued iPads.
By December, 18 students had taken their own lives. The youngest student was 9.
“When we started to see the uptick in children taking their lives, we knew it wasn’t just the Covid numbers we need to look at anymore,” said Jesus Jara, the Clark County superintendent.
"Since the lockdowns, districts are reporting suicide clusters, Dr. Massetti of the C.D.C. said, and many said they were struggling to connect students with services."
"“I can’t get these alerts anymore,” Dr. Jara confessed. “I have no words to say to these families anymore. I believe in God, but I can’t help but wonder: Am I doing everything possible to open our schools?”"
Your Kid Might Not Return to a Classroom This Year. Are Teachers Unions to Blame?: Via USA Today - long piece but worth reading the whole thing as it covers a number of the issues surfacing around the country.
Rockefeller's Dr. Rajiv J. Shah and Randi Weingarten: USA Today OpEd: "With robust testing, we can open schools this spring before the vaccine is widely available"
"Testing, expected to cost about $22.7 billion for the spring semester, will give us the option to reopen some primary public school buildings safely for those who can and want to be there."
"With the benefits of recent data and experience, we know we can make elementary and middle schools far safer, although high schools may take more time."
"COVID-19 testing must become a way of life in schools: We need to test regularly and rapidly. Testing is an early warning system, particularly for a virus that transmits asymptomatically."
"To open the nation’s primary schools, the United States will need more than 200 million tests each month."
"Second, we need to help make everyone feel safe, so students, teachers and staff have the confidence and comfort to support learning."
"Third, we need to get educators and everyone working in schools vaccinated as quickly as possible."
FEDERAL
COVID Economic Relief Package: While you were watching the Buccaneers-Packers playoff game, a bipartisan group of 16 Senators were on a call with Brian Deese to discuss the package.
There was support for additional funding for vaccine distribution, but the overall price tag was a concern.
A number of Senators raised concerns about sending $1,400 direct cash benefits to higher income households.
Jared Bernstein, a member of the CEA, took a different approach - arguing that the $900 billion passed in December would only help for "a month or two."
Reopening Schools: Vivek Murthy, President Biden’s nominee for surgeon general appeared on This Week saying:
"Achieving broad immunity against the coronavirus by the start of the school year in September is “an ambitious goal."
"Many schools don’t have resources to reopen just now... I do think we can get on a path toward opening schools more safely.”
"New strains of the disease will require continued masking, social distancing and better government tracking."
Staff Announcements:
Office of Management and Budget
Nikki Budzinski, Chief of Staff;
Michael Linden, Senior Advisor to the Director
Aviva Aron-Dine, Executive Associate Director
Bobby Kogan, Advisor to the Director
Sherry Lachman, Associate Director for Education, Income Maintenance, and Labor
Topher Spiro, Associate Director for Health
Danny Yagan, Associate Director for Economic Policy
Sam Bagenstos, General Counsel
Cristin Dorgelo, Senior Advisor for Management
Office of Personnel Management
Chris Canning, Chief of Staff
Lynn Eisenberg, General Counsel
Dave Marsh, Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff
Mini Timmaraju, Senior Advisor to the Director
Commerce
Mike Harney - Chief of Staff
Brittany Caplin - Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Press Secretary, Office of the Secretary
Antwaun Griffin - Senior Advisor to the Secretary on COVID-19
Natalie Evans Harris - Senior Advisor to the Secretary
Othniel Harris - Special Assistant, Office of the General Counsel
Meghan Maury - Senior Advisor, U.S. Census Bureau
Lauren Oppenheimer - Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
Quentin Palfrey - Deputy General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel
Feras Sleiman - Congressional Affairs Specialist, Bureau of Industry and Security
Ike Umunnah - Director of Public Affairs, Economic Development Administration
Meron Yohannes - Policy Advisor, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning
COVID-19 RESEARCH
New Variants:
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the U.S. is boosting surveillance of the new variants.
The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed nation’s first known COVID-19 case associated with Brazil P.1 variant
All University of Michigan athletics on 2-week pause after outbreak of the UK variant
Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be effective against new variants of the virus
BUT...it saw a six-fold reduction in antibodies against the South Africa variant. Moderna is developing a booster for the variant.
IHME: Weekly report.
Data on Children: Most recent AAP data on pediatric cases:
As of January 21, nearly 2.68 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.
Over two weeks, 1/7/21-1/21/21, there was a 16% increase in child COVID-19 cases
Children were 1.3%-2.9% of total reported hospitalizations
Children were 0.00%-0.19% of all COVID-19 deaths
Vaccine Trials With Children: Pfizer says its vaccine trial in kids ages 12-15 is fully enrolled with 2,259 participants as of last week.
Vaccine Distribution: Walmart revealed plans to ultimately deliver 10 to 13 million COVID-19 vaccine doses each month. Actions include:
Training pharmacists and pharmacy tech
Building a new digital scheduling tool for appointments
Partnering with state and federal agencies (Walmart is a federal pharmacy partner and can accept federal allocation of doses in all of its pharmacies)
Vaccines: Merck announced that it will stop developing both of its current COVID-19 vaccines, citing "inadequate immune responses."
STATE
Alabama: After four deaths, AEA calls for MPS to reevaluate COVID guidelines
California: Alpine Union School District vaccinated all their teachers and staff.
"Newman said his district has always been ahead of the curve. It was one of the first in the county to submit a reopening plan, and one of the first to implement COVID-19 testing for staff, students and the community."
“We believe it is our moral responsibility when safe and possible to open our school,” he said. “A large part of that is our staff will feel safer. They will feel more comfortable on campus and have that comfort as we bring more students back on campus."
Colorado: Transform Education Now surveyed over 500 families:
Parents report that students are receiving only 15 hours a week of live instruction
Families have spent an average of $1,541 of their own money on new educational expenses since last March.
Florida:
Thousands of at-risk students return to classrooms in Miami-Dade County
Tampa Bay Public Schools began vaccinating staff 65 and older.
Georgia: The Atlanta Public Schools says it will be pushing back its timeline for some students to return to the classroom. Grades 3-5 won't return to in-person learning until Feb. 8, with Grades 6-12 going back in person on Feb. 16.
Illinois: Here's where CPS, CTU stand on how, when to reopen schools
"The CTU has proposed reopening schools when the city’s test positivity rate falls below 3% or when new daily cases dip below 400. Chicago on Thursday sat at 7.6% positivity and 862 daily cases. The positivity rate hasn’t fallen below 3% since March 5, and the daily case number hasn’t been under 400 since late in the summer."
"CPS and CDPH said the union’s proposals don’t align with public health guidance. Instead, they’re focusing on a metric that measures how many days it takes for the number of cases in this second wave of the pandemic to double. Current conditions easily meet the city’s threshold, and officials have not looked likely to budge."
"The CTU has proposed allowing teachers who want to voluntarily return to their schools to go back, Goodchild said, but all others to wait for their vaccine. CPS is worried that idea would leave schools severely short-staffed, allowing “adult preferences to override a family’s educational choices."
"CTU wants all in-person staff tested weekly and a quarter of students at 40 schools in zip codes with the highest positivity rates tested regularly. CPS is currently testing up to a quarter of staff members weekly."
CPS parents urge CTU to allow members to return for in-person learning
Thousands of CPS teachers were supposed to report to the classroom Monday, but they'll work remotely instead, defying CPS orders.
Maryland:
Baltimore is deploying portable air purifiers to classrooms but teachers and parents are worried they may not be powerful enough.
An Infectious disease scientist with 4 kids in public schools calls for classroom reopening
Michigan: New Detroit survey shows 40% of teachers are willing to return to in-class instruction, up from 20% in the fall. The family survey shows 50% of parents want in-person instruction, up from 25% in the fall.
Mississippi: OpEd: "Parents need options: Statewide virtual school in Mississippi should be one of them"
New York: The Governor is seeking a federal waiver of the state's 3-8 assessments
Ohio: Language liaisons help Columbus students who are learning English and learning online.
"The school district provided Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS) with $100,000 from its general fund to hire the liaisons and support the program. The nonprofit social-services organization in Columbus helps immigrants and refugees gain self-sufficiency and has worked with district families for years."
Pennsylvania: CHOP doctors endorse return to in-person school in Philadelphia.
“Schools may be little islands of safety,” Coffin said. “Where the people who gather, if they gather in good conscience and committed to safety plans, [can] go about their day as safely as the community, but even more safely.”
Tennessee: OpEd: "My view as a mother, doctor, teacher's wife and public school parent: Metro Nashville Public Schools should embrace new research which shows students can learn safely on school grounds."
"I’ve watched as an epidemiologist, as the body of literature has steadily grown to support the safety of in-person schooling for students, teachers and staff in the setting of appropriate mitigation strategies including masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing."
"I watched as a wife, as my teacher husband struggles with technology frustrations, steadily worsening engagement, and exceptionally low attendance."
"I have watched as a mom, as my children become frustrated around virtual platforms and despondent around lack of social interaction with their peers."
"Through this report of children in the state of Tennessee, those in Black families were significantly more likely to attend only virtual school (58%) compared to children in white families (23%)."
"The risk to our children is now greater with school buildings closed than it is if they were to open their doors and the most vulnerable will bear the heaviest burden."
Texas: Duncanville ISD is launching ‘Operation Connection’ to help students who are struggling with online learning.
INTERNATIONAL
EU: How are EU countries dealing with schools?
Schools are generally closed in Germany.
The Netherlands moved to distance learning on December 16th until at least February 7th.
In France, all children aged over six must wear face masks at all times, including in outdoor spaces, and schools must ventilate their buildings and prevent student groups from mixing.
Israel: Has begun vaccinating high school students.
Ministry of Health data show that Israel’s younger population is far more likely to test positive for the coronavirus, with 10- to 19-year-olds making up 21% of known infections. The 20- to 29-year-old age group accounts for 19% of known infections.
“They are the megaspreaders,” Ido Hadari, director of government relations at Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare Services said of high-school students. “If we vaccinate these guys they will stop being spreaders.”
UK:
One in three locked-down families don't have enough computers for their children
There is growing pressure to reopen schools. MPs have called for a "route map" for reopening schools.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says schools will be given at least two weeks' notice to reopen - which he "hopes" will happen before Easter.
Scotland is considering having students repeat the academic year.
LEARNING PODS
Mesa Micro-School: Serves home-schooled students.
LA Times: One their reporters "tried to start a pandemic pod for their 5-year-old. Here's how it went wrong"
RESOURCES
Tutoring as an Emergency Response and Recovery Strategy: New report from 50Can including policy recommendations.
Miami Heat: Will use coronavirus-sniffing dogs to screen fans at games. Sign Teddy up for service.
Parents With Disabilities Face Extra Hurdles With Kids' Remote Schooling: Via NPR
With Students Missing Online Classes, Teachers Are Going to Students: Via the NYT, at a charter school in a poor area of Washington, some teachers spend one day a week going door to door, tracking down students who aren’t logging on.
Closing the Homework Gap Together: Post from AT&T outlining their approach:
Identify where broadband is unavailable with geographic precision
Modernize the Federal Communication Commission’s Lifeline program
Give equal weight to wired and wireless solutions
Enact a policy framework that incorporates sustainable funding mechanisms
Side Note: The last bullet is the macro policy issue to watch. Right now E-rate and LifeLine are funded out of a declining revenue stream. Watch for more calls to reform the contribution rate methodology, particularly from industry.
Janet Yellen Was Confirmed Today: Making her the first female Secretary of the Treasury. So Who's Yellen Now????