COVID-19 Policy Update #291
COVID-19 Policy Update
THURSDAY 7/8
TOP THREE
Rising COVID Cases: 24 states saw an increase of at least 10% in Covid-19 cases over the past week
Pfizer:
Announced that they are seeking approval from regulators for a third shot to boost protection against the Delta variant. (Tweet that broke the news. AP story. Press Release).
Not so fast - says the CDC and FDA in a joint statement: "Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time. ... We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed”
IES: Most recent NAEP school survey shows that roughly 3 in 4 fourth- and eighth-graders were enrolled in at least some in-person instruction, about half full-time in-person, in May.
Survey data here.
The rate of Black and Hispanic students attending full, in-person learning continues to inch upward, but still falling at least 20 percentage points below that of white students.
Surprising regional differences. Few students out west receive more than 5 hours of live instruction each day.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Regular Testing May Be the Best Way to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreaks at Schools: According to a new study.
Long COVID Survey Report: Survey from Prevent Epidemics reveals the more people know about long COVID, the more likely they are to consider getting vaccinated.
Winning Hearts and Minds: Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo encourages empathy in conversations with COVID-19 vaccine skeptics
"The problem, she says, isn't that vaccine skeptics aren't informed, but that they are informed by disreputable sources with a vested interest in spreading misinformation."
"Just try to hear people out and hear what their concerns are," she says. "And try to empathize with them a little bit. The fears that they're expressing come from somewhere. So the first step is just checking yourself and what baggage you bring to these conversations—I think that's an eye-opening experience regardless."
"I think we also have to acknowledge that these vaccines are new. Several of them use a new technology that we've never used before in the vaccines we're used to."
Apple Watch and Fitbit: Can detect long-term COVID-19 effects according to a new paper.
Via the NYT: "The scientists also found that about nine days after participants with Covid first began reporting symptoms, their heart rates dropped. After this dip, which was not observed in those with other illnesses, their heart rates rose again and remained elevated for months. It took 79 days, on average, for their resting heart rates to return to normal, compared with just four days for those in the non-Covid group."
Something else the Apple Watch can do: TikTok user reveals ‘mind-blowing’ hack for calculating tips using the Apple Watch. Has nothing to do with COVID or education but I was surprised to learn about this.
STATE
Arizona: Arizona Department of Education and Discovery Education are providing standards-aligned activities, on-demand professional learning, and 190,000 resources for schools.
California: USC and the Policy Analysis for California Education survey shows parents want to keep online learning as a fall option
71% of parents agreed that online learning should remain an option.
Parents cited as their top concern “the impact on students’ emotional and mental health." Republicans showed greater concern than Democrats.
Illinois: Only 1 in 10 Illinois students had access to in-person learning for eight months of the pandemic.
"Illinois ranked 8th worst in the nation for offering students access to full-time in-person learning between September 2020 and April 2021 – less than any other Midwest state."
Nevada: Schools to still offer remote learning, but not for open-enrolled students.
North Carolina: The number of children homeschooled in North Carolina jumped nearly 21% during the pandemic (nearly 180,000 students).
Homeschooled students among 6 year olds increased by 41%.
The Wake County Public School System had the largest homeschool student population in the state at 16,347, which was a 20% increase from the previous school year.
Ohio: Good ads from the perspective of pediatricians who are also parents on the importance of getting teens vaccinated.
INTERNATIONAL
Teen Vaccinations in the EU: Sixteen countries, including France and Italy, are now vaccinating children above the age of 12 or plan to do so; while 17 countries have decided against, or will only jab teenagers, if they have serious underlying health conditions.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Trends in Absolute Income Mobility in North America and Europe: New study.
"Rates and trends in absolute mobility varied dramatically across countries during this period: the US and Canada saw upward mobility rates near 50% for recent cohorts, while countries like Norway and Finland saw sustained rates above 70%."
COVID-19 Crisis Pushes US Students Into An Uncertain Job Market: Via McKinsey
More than half-a-million US students are dropping out of college, leaving their economic futures in the balance.
"At Southwest Tennessee Community College, located just outside of downtown Memphis, first-year applications dropped by more than a third compared with 2019. Then there was an 18 percent drop in overall enrollment in spring 2021 compared with fall 2020—a decline nearly double the nationwide average."
RESOURCES
NGA: Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson becomes chairman. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy elected Vice Chairman
Rock, Water, and Pebble: Three strategies for scaling innovation from New Profit Managing Partner Alex Cortez
The Post-COVID Stickiness of Hybrid School: Via Axios:
"Districts have got to do it," says Larry Ferlazzo, a high school teacher in Sacramento. "If they don’t, parents will just find a charter school to send the students, and we’ll lose the students.
Most Students in Urban Districts Will Have Summer Learning Options, But Schools’ Plans May Miss the Mark: CRPE via The 74
85% of districts in CRPE's database included detailed summer plans, up from 32% in 2020. But, only 48% of districts are offering academic interventions and are personalizing programs with special education and ELL services.
EdChoice/Morning Consult Poll: New report, as well as the crosstabs among the national public sample and K–12 school parents sample.
Americans' likelihood to agree to be vaccinated continues to increase, with the largest increases among Hispanics, Blacks and those in the lower income bracket.
Nearly three out of four school parents feel comfortable with their children returning to school right now, an increase of nine points since May.
Most school parents believe that schools should provide multiple learning options for students in the fall.
Just under half of school parents either have a child currently being tutored, are looking for a tutor, or will be looking for a tutor.
Two Great Performances: 9-Year-Old Victory Brinker makes AGT history. And a moving performance by a former school teacher Matt Mauser who lost his wife last year in the same crash that killed Kobe Bryant.