COVID-19 Policy Update #191
COVID-19 Policy Update
TUESDAY 2/2
TOP THREE
New Strains, Not School Spread, Drives Parent Fears: Axios-Ipsos poll:
83% of Americans say they're concerned about new strains that may be more transmissible — with about one-third of that group saying they're "extremely" concerned.
How concerned are you about schools in your community re-opening too soon:
January 29-February 1: 59% (Total Concerned) / 37% (Total Not Concerned)
August 21-24: 74% / 24%
August 14-17: 73% / 25%
August 7-10 : 73% / 25%
The Four Headwinds Threatening Pandemic-Era Education Innovation: From Jason Weeby. "Unfortunately, there are four strong headwinds that could stop them from blooming into durable innovations."
A Deep Desire to Return to Normal
A System Built for Stability, Not Innovation
Teachers Unions
A Lack of Philanthropic Funding for Innovation
The Digital Divide Has Narrowed, But 12 Million Students Are Still Disconnected: EdSurge covers new report from Common Sense, Boston Consulting Group and the Southern Education Foundation.
FEDERAL
COVID Relief Package
The Senate voted 50-49 along party lines to advance a budget resolution, setting up a process to advance the Administration's $1.9 trillion COVID package.
NPR has a good article on the reconciliation process. And here is Brownstein's summary.
Side by Side of the Biden plan compared to the Republican plan.
The Washington Post has a good article and chart comparing the Senate Republican proposal to President Biden's.
The Tax Foundation modeled the proposals for direct cash benefits.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
New Variants: Reuters reports.
"The UK variant of the coronavirus has developed a new, concerning mutation in a small number of cases, which scientists said makes it similar to the South African and Brazilian variants and could reduce the efficacy of vaccines."
"Public Health England said there had been 11 reports of the UK variant which feature the E484K mutation, mostly in south-west England."
"The name E484K, in layman’s terms, is like map coordinates. The number 484 is the exact location of the mutation, the letter E is the amino acid that it was originally and the letter K is the amino acid that it has mutated to."
At Home Testing: The Biden administration made a $231.8 million deal with Ellume to purchase more than 8 million at home testing kits. The test uses a short nasal swab to collect a sample which is then put into a digital analyzer linked to a smartphone app. Results come back in under 15 mins.
Vaccine Tracking Indicators: New report from Resolve to Save Lives outlining recommended vaccine data indicators to inform COVID-19 response efforts and provide transparency on vaccine rollout.
Current phase of vaccination, including who is eligible to be vaccinated now
Number of full vaccine regimens distributed to state per person
Percentage of population that could be fully vaccinated with doses distributed
Percentage of doses administered
Percentage of the population that have begun vaccination
Percentage of the population fully vaccinated, including by race/ethnicity and long-term care facility
Vaccine Distribution: The Biden Administration announced:
Increase supply by 16% over the next three weeks resulting in at least 10.5 million doses.
Will purchase additional 100 million doses of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines (enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall)
Will begin sending doses directly to retail chains beginning Feb. 11.
Demographics of the Vaccinated: New CDC report describing the characteristics of the first 13 million people to receive vaccinations (based on available data)
63% were women
55% were over 50
Race and ethnicity were reported for only half of them: 60% were white, 14% were categorized as multiple or other race/ethnicity, 12% Hispanic/Latino, 6% Asian, 5% Black.
Vaccine Hesitancy: A Baltimore pastor, preaching about vaccines to the Black community, emphasizes personal agency
STATE
California: LAUSD is considering adding ten additional instructional days to the school year.
Iowa: Teachers and staff started receiving vaccines this week.
Maryland: Baltimore County schools announce plans to reopen for students in March; teachers to return by Feb.
North Carolina: The NC Association of Educators said teachers should be vaccinated before returning to the classroom.
Ohio: More than 90,000 Ohio teachers, school personnel expected to get COVID-19 vaccine this week
Tennessee: Nashville students return to the classroom next week.
Texas: Story about a substitute teacher crisis facing several districts.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
How States Can Direct Economic Development to Places and People in Need: Pew on strategies to strengthen place-based programs and better support distressed areas.
Research in Action Lab: The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia signed an agreement to create a Research in Action Lab on the topic of minority-owned small businesses.
Big Ideas for 2021: Fascinating deck from ARK Investments laying out how they see the trends and opportunities, including growth in Deep Learning, Automation, AVs, and drones.
RESOURCES
Lessons from Spanish Flu — Babies Born in 1919 Had Worse Educational, Life Outcomes Than Those Born Just Before or After: Chad Aldeman
"Compared with children born just before or after, children exposed to the flu pandemic were less likely to finish high school, earned less money and were more likely to depend on welfare assistance. The harmful effects were twice as large for nonwhite children."
"These are ominous findings suggesting that hidden economic factors may influence a child’s life in ways that aren’t obvious in the moment."
How Do Teacher Preparation Programs Affect a State’s Economy? New report from former Gov. Bob Wise (funded by Carnegie Corporation) examines teacher preparation programs, some of the challenges created by COVID, and recommendations for policymakers.
The Education Lesson from COVID-19: School Choice Is Imperative for Every Child: New report from the Heritage Foundation's Lindsey Burke
Cutting Lessons: As virus cuts class time, teachers have to leave out lessons
How the Federal Government Can Use Data to Make the Most of the Executive Order on Racial Equity: Recommendations from the Urban Institute
Catholic Schools Are Beating Covid: Column from Bill McGurn
Snow Day: Just some pictures of Teddy and Bentley enjoying the snow.