COVID-19 Policy Update #303
COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 7/26
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I was getting coffee with the dogs yesterday when a 10 year old girl came over and said, "I love Bernese Mountain Dogs but they don't fit my lifestyle." So how was your Sunday?
Tonight's update is a bit later than usual as due to a nice send off for NWEA's Samantha Musacchia who is relocating to Minot, ND. Since the event was held at Millie's, tonight's update pairs well with a "Madaket Mystery."
Thanks to everyone for the feedback in last week's survey. I'll be back soon with some ways we'll it, but for right now know that it is appreciated.
TOP THREE
FDA asks Pfizer, Moderna to Expand Children's Trials: "a move intended to assess whether a rare inflammation of the heart muscle that has been seen in young adults shortly after vaccination is more common in younger age groups."
"A federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity predicted that authorization of a coronavirus vaccine for children 5 through 11 might come by late October or early November."
"Moderna would likely seek authorization for the vaccine in "winter 2021/early 2022."
ED: Parent Town Hall with the CDC and US Department of Education on July 29 at 8pm ET
"Parents are invited to submit questions about the return to in-person instruction below. Pre-submitted questions will help plan the content of the session. Time will also be reserved for live questions and answers at the end of the event."
Biden Officials Now Expect Vulnerable Will Need Booster Shots: Via NYT:
“Biden administration health officials increasingly think that vulnerable populations will need booster shots even as research continues into how long the coronavirus vaccines remain effective."
“Senior officials now say they expect that people who are 65 and older or who have compromised immune systems will most likely need a third shot from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, two vaccines based on the same technology that have been used to inoculate the vast majority of Americans thus far. That is a sharp shift from just a few weeks ago, when the administration said it thought there was not enough evidence to back boosters yet.”
More via Axios: "Some Biden officials are increasingly convinced that high levels of neutralizing antibodies correlate with a higher degree of protection against illness. They worry that means that as more time passes, vaccinated people may be increasingly vulnerable to mild, moderate or even severe disease, a Biden official told Axios."
COVID-19 RESEARCH
COVID Hotspots: Via NYT using CDC and Resolve to Save Lives data.
A New Way to Visualize the Surge in Covid-19: Via STAT
"As an analogy, a car’s velocity tells you how fast the car is going. Its acceleration tells you how quickly that car is speeding up."
STATE compiled data from several sources to calculate the rate of weekly case acceleration which helps provide a new indicator of how intense a wave might be and how long it might last.
By looking at the state’s case acceleration rate, we can see that cases in Louisiana are currently increasing faster than they did at the start of last winter’s wave.
Polling on Boosters: A bit worrisome: 3 in 5 say they would get a booster shot.
"7 in 10 vaccinated adults who are worried about the variant (70%) say they would take a booster shot if it was available. Just 2 in 5 vaccinated adults who are not very worried or not worried at all about the COVID-19 strain (42%) would accept a booster shot."
Parents Split on Vaccine for Children Under 11: Survey from University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health
"49% of parents say it's likely they will get their children vaccinated. 51% say it's unlikely, even if approved by the FDA."
"Families with lower incomes are less likely to get the vaccine (38% likely to get the vaccine) than higher incomes (60%)."
"Many parents report they have not discussed COVID vaccination with their child’s provider (50% older, 70% younger children)."
Remote Schooling Linked to a Dramatic Reduction in COVID-19 Deaths within Ohio Communities: Study from U. of Pittsburgh and CMU (Study)
"The data showed a dramatic increase in COVID-19 deaths in counties where most school children were learning in school in the fall of 2020, compared to counties where most children were learning online."
Teens Asked, We Answered: The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines: Via NPR
Kids, the Delta Variant and Vaccines: What to Know as Schools Reopen: Via WSJ
"The good news: Children are at an extremely low risk of dying from Covid-19, according to some of the most comprehensive studies to date, which looked at data from the United Kingdom. Children are also at low risk of developing serious disease, researchers said. Between 0.1% and 1.9% of the child cases result in hospitalizations, the AAP says."
"The risks, though low, are one reason many doctors and health authorities encourage vaccination among everyone eligible. “If you told anybody before Covid that 300 to 600 children were dying of a preventable disease, they would all say that would be unacceptable,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chair of the AAP committee on infectious diseases."
GOP Governors Call for Full Vaccine Approval: “As U.S. regulators weigh giving the final stamp of approval for certain COVID-19 vaccines, governors in states hard hit by the pandemic hope the move will help persuade the many holdouts in their states to finally get the shot,” the AP reports.
A Study of Parents' Experiences Across Gender and Income Levels: Study:
"Parents reported high levels of depression, anxiety, and parental burnout. Further, many parents reported increased negative emotions, such as anger and worry, while simultaneously feeling closer to their children and offering more comfort and soothing."
"Higher income parents more commonly said they felt closer to their children and more gratitude than usual compared with lower income parents."
STATE
California: Federal Court rules that California COVID-19 closures infringed private school parents’ rights. (decision here)
"The state’s orders last year barring in-person instruction at private schools were not narrowly tailored to advance a compelling state interest, the court said."
"The parents argued in legal declarations that their children were being harmed by remote learning and that public and private schools had taken steps last year to safely reopen but were barred from doing so by the state’s orders and system of classifications of each county into tiers of COVID risk."
Illinois: Congratulations to Greg! Chicago Catholic Schools hires charter executive Greg Richmond as superintendent
Michigan: Detroit public schools, Detroit Federation of Teachers reach a reopening agreement that includes $2,000 hazard pay, virtual learning option, testing for unvaccinated.
New York: NYC will require municipal workers - including teachers - to be vaccinated or face testing
Tennessee: Resumes vaccination outreach but with marketing emphasis on parents, not children
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Survey finds alarming rise in severe emotional distress among students
"The survey of more than 24,000 students across 79 public schools found around 40% of secondary students were experiencing moderate to high levels of emotional distress."
UK: Schools closing could be behind drop in Covid-19 cases across UK
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Let’s Streamline the Transition From High School to College and Careers: Via JFF.
Here's the report: The Big Blur: An Argument for Erasing the Boundaries Between High School, College, and Careers —and Creating One New System That Works for Everyone
Wired and Hired: Employment Effects of Subsidized Broadband Internet for Low-Income Americans: New study.
RESOURCES
Homeschooling Surges: Via the AP
"Black households saw the largest jump; their homeschooling rate rose from 3.3% in the spring of 2020 to 16.1% in the fall."
"There’s no turning back for us now,” she added. “The pandemic has been a blessing — an opportunity to take ownership of our children’s education.”
"For some families, the switch to homeschooling was influenced by their children’s special needs. That’s the case for Jennifer Osgood of Fairfax, Vermont, whose 7-year-old daughter Lily has Down syndrome. Having observed Lily’s progress with reading and arithmetic while at home during the pandemic, Osgood is convinced homeschooling is the best option for her going forward."
Epic Drone Display: During the opening Olympic Ceremonies