COVID-19 Policy Update #302
COVID-19 Policy Update
FRIDAY 7/23
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TOP THREE
How New Mexico Schools Plan to Spend Their Funds: The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that New Mexico schools plan to spend the bulk of the federal relief money on technology and building upgrades rather than student learning loss.
"Schools plan to spend only 9 percent to address learning loss and 8 percent to provide at-risk student interventions."
As Americans Navigate Conflicting COVID-19 Mask Advice, Everyone is Confused: Via Reuters:
The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated recommendations for schools that included mask wearing for everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that unvaccinated children should wear masks in schools.
But the CDC on Thursday said it is not changing its mask guidance for schools, including that masks are only required for those over age 2 who have not been vaccinated.
"In Florida, however, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday children will not be required to wear masks in school there this fall, arguing that "we need our kids to breathe." Hours later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: "If I were a parent in Florida, that would be greatly concerning to me."
How COVID-19 Testing Can Keep Students in School: OpEd from several health researchers:
"In the spring, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education stood up a pooled testing program and found low rates of COVID-19 cases in schools, with little evidence of in-school transmission. It was an effective way to reassure the public that schools are safe."
"The infrastructure and processes developed for asymptomatic screening last year can be used this year in creative new ways – especially if unmasked students are considered close contacts of a classmate or teacher who tests positive, and, without testing, would be kept out of school until a full quarantine period is over."
"Testing programs could be used to help keep schools open in two complementary ways: a rapid diagnostic program for students or staff with symptoms, and a daily testing program for unmasked and unvaccinated close classroom contacts of a known case who last year would have been subject to quarantine and remote schooling."
FEDERAL
White House: "All schools should be open for in-person instruction for the 2021-22 school year, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday, rejecting concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus potentially relegating American students to another year of remote instruction."
“Our plan and our objective and our desire and commitment is to push forward and ensure 100 percent of schools are open across the country,” Psaki said during a White House press briefing, adding that the Delta variant — which is more transmissible but does not necessarily cause more severe cases of COVID-19 — “has not changed our public health guidelines.”
ED: Released resource to help schools improve ventilation systems
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Pfizer:
The Biden administration purchased an additional 200 million doses "to prepare for future vaccination needs, including vaccines for children under 12 and possible booster shots if studies show they are necessary,"
Australia's health regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, approved the vaccine for 12-15 year olds.
Moderna: European Medicines Agency approved the vaccine for 12-17 year olds.
BTW - the Moderna vaccine is now called Spikevax in the EU
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Public School District Employees Following a District-Wide Vaccination Program: New study from the CDC which found that unvaccinated and partially vaccinated staff in Philadelphia public schools were far more likely to catch Covid-19 than their fully immunized colleagues after the district began reopening this spring.
"Just 0.09% of screening tests came back positive for Covid-19 if staff received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, far lower than the 1.76% of positive tests among unvaccinated staff and 1.21% of positive tests among staff who reported just one vaccine dose."
Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Children and Adolescents: Study in NEJM by CDC and Georgia Department of Public Health researchers who tracked an outbreak at an overnight summer camp.
"This retrospective study showed that the efficient transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from school-age children and adolescents to household members led to the hospitalization of adults with secondary cases of Covid-19. In households in which transmission occurred, half the household contacts were infected."
Covid Testing for School Children Just as Effective as Isolation: According to research by the University of Oxford, daily testing rather than the 10-day quarantine policy could reduce absences by up to 39%.
STATE
Alabama: The Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics released recommendations for reopening school.
"All students and school staff should wear face masks at school."
"People who do not demonstrate evidence of full vaccination should be in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days after close exposure"
"If there is not a universal masking policy, exposed people should be expected to wear a mask for 14 days regardless of the duration of their quarantine."
California: Two parents' groups are suing Governor Newsom over mask mandates in public schools.
Georgia: Atlanta Public Schools will implement a “universal mask wearing” policy in all of its school buildings
Illinois: Chicago Public Schools will require masks indoors.
Louisiana: School-aged kids now have third-highest number of COVID-19 infections
"Currently, the pediatric cases are about 16 % and that’s up from just 7% just two weeks ago, which is up from about 1-2 % a month or two ago,” said Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, System Medical Director of Hospital Quality, Ochsner Health"
Maryland: State leaders offer schools funding to expand student testing for COVID-19
New York: The Next 100: From Crisis to Opportunity: A Policy Agenda for an Equitable NYC
Texas: Leander ISD's virtual learning program exceeds capacity
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
The United States Prosperity Index 2021: Released by the Legatum Institute yesterday provides a comprehensive picture of prosperity for the 50 states as well as the 1,196 counties in: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. Video from the event including remarks by Sonal Shah.
COVID Impact on Working Parents: The DOL American Time Use Survey data released this week revealed the "extent to which working parents, particularly women, juggled their jobs and child care simultaneously."
The Pandemic Drove Women Out of the Workforce. Will They Come Back?: Super long but worthwhile piece over at Politico
"Nearly 1.8 million women have dropped out of the labor force amid the pandemic and are now grappling with whether and how to return to work in a vastly different landscape — one where some jobs have disappeared, others are vulnerable to automation, and nearly all involve some level of health risk."
"Overall, 57.5 percent of women aged 20 and older were participating in the U.S. labor force in June — down from 59.2 percent in February 2020 and a level that, even after months of improvement, is still the lowest in more than 30 years."
"The barriers to returning to the labor force have proven particularly acute for mothers, who disproportionately shoulder caretaking responsibilities in the U.S. and who began taking on the added burden of helping kids through virtual school when schools were closed because of the pandemic."
RESOURCES
Guides for ESSER Spending, Scheduling, and Staffing: A multitude of new resources from ERS with advice on what to do now and what to build toward.
AAP Inadvertently Promotes 'Common Sense' Approach to School Mask Requirements: Via Nat Malkus
"Precisely because they are overly stringent, AAP’s masking recommendations are more likely to alienate, than inform, the communities where clear public health guidance — and strategic use of masking — is most needed."
"Beyond its masking absolutism, AAP’s failure to discuss how masking could end will encourage many states and districts to ignore it. If AAP had said, “Masking remains vital; these targets have to be met to end masking,” it could usefully push states and districts toward those targets, even where the audience is skeptical."
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