COVID-19 Policy Update #252
COVID-19 Policy Update
TUESDAY MAY 11
TOP THREE
A Misleading C.D.C. Number: Via David Leonhardt at the NYT who touches on camps and schools:
"When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines last month for mask wearing, it announced that ‘less than 10 percent‘ of Covid-19 transmission was occurring outdoors. Media organizations repeated the statistic, and it quickly became a standard description of the frequency of outdoor transmission…”
“In truth, the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent, multiple epidemiologists told me. The rare outdoor transmission that has happened almost all seems to have involved crowded places or close conversation.”
“Saying that less than 10 percent of Covid transmission occurs outdoors is akin to saying that sharks attack fewer than 20,000 swimmers a year. (The actual worldwide number is around 150.) It’s both true and deceiving.”
"This isn’t just a gotcha math issue. It is an example of how the C.D.C. is struggling to communicate effectively, and leaving many people confused about what’s truly risky. C.D.C. officials have placed such a high priority on caution that many Americans are bewildered by the agency’s long list of recommendations."
"Erring on the side of protection — by exaggerating the risks of outdoor transmission — may seem to have few downsides. But it has contributed to widespread public confusion about what really matters. Some Americans are ignoring the C.D.C.’s elaborate guidelines and ditching their masks, even indoors, while others continue to harass people who walk around outdoors without a mask."
COVID Cases in SFUSD: SFUSD reported only 20 cases have been recorded among the 20,000 staffers and students who have returned to elementary school campuses since the district reopened for in-person learning three weeks ago.
“In other words, zero cases were related to in-school transmission at SFUSD,” the city Department of Public Health said in a statement. “There were no cases among vaccinated teachers and staff” in the school district"
Parents and Vaccine Hesitancy:
VCU COVID survey: more than 60% of Virginia parents willing to get their kids vaccinated
Parents Are Pivotal for Teen Vaccines: Via Axios. Also - an Axios/Ipsos poll found 49% of parents are totally likely to get their child vaccinated, and 49% are not likely.
FEDERAL
Treasury: Releases the $350 billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Interim final regulation. State/City allocations below:
States & District of Columbia ($195.3 billion): Allocations (PDF / CSV)
Metropolitan Cities ($45.6 billion): Allocations (PDF / CSV)
Non-Entitlement Units of Local Government ($19.5 billion): Allocations (PDF / CSV)
USDA Distance Learning & Telemedicine Grant Program (DLT): Is awarding grants ranging from $50,000 to $1 million to organizations supporting distance learning and telemedicine in rural communities. The deadline for this competitive grant program is June 4. Fact Sheet.
FCC: Voted unanimously last evening on the draft order for allocating the $7 billion homework gap funding through the E-rate program. The vote likely means the program will open July 1.
From All4Ed: The final notice takes a different (and better) approach: First, districts will be able to apply for purchases made for the coming school year during the first application window. After this initial application window, a second window will be opened and funds that remain can be used to reimburse districts for expenses incurred since the beginning of the school closures (March 1, 2020 - June 30 2021). However, if it appears that demand far exceeds supply in the initial window, they may open a second “prospective” window before opening an application window for reimbursements.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
CDC Approves At-Home COVID Tests for International Travel: A $24 COVID-19 self-test kit will satisfy the CDC's testing requirement for international arrivals.
STATE
California: "S.F. seniors might go back to school for only one day before term ends. Families are furious"
Texas: New Dallas ISD Hybrid School to offer mix of in-person and virtual learning
Virginia:
The state announced $62.7 million in Virginia LEARNS Education Recovery grants. Funds can be used for:
Increased in-person instruction and small-group learning;
Targeted remediation, extended instruction, and enrichment;
Strategic virtual learning, technology, and staff training;
Social-emotional, behavioral, and mental health supports for students and staff;
Alternate learning opportunities; and
Student-progress monitoring and assessment.
Citing lack of teachers, Arlington County scales back plans for summer school
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
BLS: Job openings increased to record 8.1 million in March
LEARNING PODS
Great Hearts Microschools: Announced.
"All students in Great Hearts Microschools will be enrolled in Great Hearts Online, a virtual classical academy that launched in Texas in January 2021 and will launch in Arizona for August 2021."
"At a Great Hearst Microschool, scholars will attend live virtual classes with students across the state, socialize and play together with their in person Microschool peers, receive asynchronous assignment support, and participate in a variety of clubs and enrichment opportunities."
RESOURCES
Resuming In-person Instruction: Amazing stat from AEI's Return to Learn tracker: Only ten states have at least three-quarters of districts offering fully in-person instruction: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, and South Carolina.
How Schools Can Help Kids Heal After the Pandemic’s Uncertainty: Story from reporting partnership between Kaiser Health News, NPR, and Illinois Public Media
"To reestablish relationships in the classroom — and help kids cope with the stress and trauma of the past year — mental health experts say educators can start by building in time every day, for every student, in every classroom to share their feelings and learn the basics of naming and managing their emotions. Think morning circle time or, for older students, homeroom."
They Moved For In-person School During the Pandemic. Now They Must Decide: Stay or Go? Via Washington Post.
Summer-School Frenzy: Via Axios
It’s Time to Reevaluate How We Talk about COVID Risk: Via Scientific American
CDC’s Slow, Cautious Messaging on Covid-19: Seems out of step with the moment, public health experts say via Stat.
"Nearly a year ago, amid concerns about how to prevent transmission of the virus causing Covid-19, scientists were beginning to conclude that rigorous disinfection of surfaces — say, fogging them or deep-cleaning with bleach — was overkill."
"Academics were warning that the risk of so-called fomite transmission was wildly overblown. In the fall, research from Israel and Italy found that the virus couldn’t even be cultured from surfaces in hospital infectious disease units. By February of this year, the editorial board of Nature was openly urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its guidelines."
"The CDC did so — last month."
"It wasn’t until April 2 that the CDC changed its stance — sort of. The agency issued guidance that day saying “fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves.” But CDC Director Rochelle Walensky contradicted the guidelines almost immediately. During a press conference, Walensky said that she continues to “advocate against general travel overall.”
"The CDC’s new guidance on reopening summer camps, for example, recommends that everyone at a camp, including children older than 2 and fully vaccinated adults, wear masks at all times — even outdoors — except when swimming or eating."
"The guidance seemed disconnected from the science, which has continually shown that the risk of catching Covid-19 outdoors is low compared to the risk of indoor transmission. It’s also thought that children — particularly young children — transmit the virus less efficiently than adults, though researchers are still studying Covid-19 dynamics in kids."
Children's Privacy Law: Sen. Markey (D) and Sen. Cassidy (R-La.) introduced legislation to update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
"The new bill, nicknamed COPPA 2.0, is similar to legislation he proposed in 2019 and represents renewed efforts from the longtime children’s privacy advocate to strengthen protections for youth online."
Among the items in the legislation it would:
Build on COPPA’s consent requirements by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 15 years old without the user’s consent;
Ban targeted advertising (as opposed to contextual advertising) directed at children;
Establish a “Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens” that limits the collection of personal information of teens;
Create an “Eraser Button” for parents and kids by requiring companies to permit users to eliminate personal information from a child or teen when technologically feasible;
Establish a Youth Marketing and Privacy Division at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Today: Is National Eat What You Want Day.
Angry Dog: Puppy gets angry at his own hiccups