COVID-19 Policy Update #306
COVID-19 Policy Update
THURSDAY 7/29
TOP THREE
Biden Administration Announces New Vaccination Actions: Fact Sheet:
Every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status.
Small- and medium-sized businesses will now be reimbursed for offering their employees paid leave to get their family members, including their kids, vaccinated.
Calling on states, territories, and local governments to do more to incentivize vaccination, including offering $100 to those who get vaccinated.
Calling on school districts nationwide to host at least one pop-up vaccination clinic over the coming weeks.
The Administration is directing pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program to prioritize this and to work with school districts across the country to host vaccination clinics at schools and colleges.
Randi Weingarten Interview: In a MSNBC interview, Randi talks about Delta, mask guidance, and more.
"So the bottom line is, we're going to keep kids safe, we're going to keep our members safe, we're going to try to open up schools, and we're going to move through this political battlefield."
CDC Reversal on Masking Prompts Experts to Ask, ‘Where’s the Data?’: Via Washington Post
"But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not publish the new research. In the text of the updated masking guidance, the agency merely cited “CDC COVID-19 Response Team, unpublished data, 2021.”
"I think the implications [of the data] are that people who are vaccinated, even when they’re asymptomatic, can transmit the virus, which is the scientific foundation of why this recommendation is being made,” Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said in an interview with The Washington Post."
FEDERAL
Spending Bill: Senate Majority Leader Schumer said that all 50 Democrats will vote to move forward on the party’s $3.5 trillion spending proposal.
IES: Cost-Feasibility Analysis Toolkit for Supplemental Online Programs
USDA: Introduces first Alexa skill to help parents with nutrition information for kids
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Pfizer: Israel to offer booster to people over 60
AstraZeneca and Pfizer Have Same Level of Blood Clot Risk: According to a new study (preprint here).
"In April The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said there was a "possible link" between the vaccine and "very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets". Following the discovery, many countries around the world imposed restrictions on its use."
UK officials say EU leaders who shelved the Oxford vaccine have 'blood on their hands'
Research on Vaccine Lotteries: New paper.
Finds that Ohio’s lottery increased the vaccinated share of state population by 1.5 percent, costing $68 per person persuaded to vaccinate.
Estimates it prevents at least one infection for every six vaccinations that the lottery had successfully encouraged.
Covid Will Increase Life Expectancy: Via David Colander in WSJ
"The figure the CDC reported last week is known as “period life expectancy.” It measures the average length of time a hypothetical American who, from birth to death, is exposed to the mortality rates observed in the current period. That means the 2020 statistic assumes that Covid will be killing people forever at the same rate as it did last year—an implausible scenario."
"The pandemic’s indirect effect on the more meaningful cohort life expectancy is likely to be positive since the recent gains in medical knowledge and vaccine technology can be expected to extend life expectancy for incoming cohorts as it leads to better treatments for all types of diseases."
What if the Unvaccinated Can’t Be Persuaded? Via Ezra Klein
If policymakers want to change their minds, they have to change their calculations by raising the costs of remaining unvaccinated, the benefits of getting vaccinated or both.
"We do not solely rely on argumentation to persuade people to wear seatbelts. A majority of states do not leave it to individual debaters to hash out whether you can smoke in indoor workplaces. Polio and measles were murderous, but their near elimination required vaccine mandates, not just public education. When George Washington wanted to protect his soldiers from smallpox, he made vaccinations mandatory."
"The objection I find most convincing to any kind of vaccine mandate is that we have not built the infrastructure to make it work. What if someone who received a vaccine has lost her card, or her information was wrongly recorded when she got her shot? If we try to carry this out through smartphones, what if you don’t have a smartphone, or you lose it? If you want to choose frequent testing, how do you get access to those tests, and who pays for it, and how are the results recorded? If you have a problem, who do you call to solve it? How long are the wait times when you call? What if you need an answer quickly?"
3 in 5 Americans Support Mask Requirements for K-12 Students: YouGov
America’s Vaccine Policies Are a Contradictory Mess: Via Tyler Cowen
"The delta variant is sweeping the U.S., and it is significantly more infectious, yet the Centers for Disease Control doesn’t have the data tools to know whether this is an early, middle or late stage of an outbreak. This is after a year and a half of a pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 Americans."
"Have you ever wondered whether the U.S. will do better “next time”? Well, the next time is now — and the country is still flailing across some significant dimensions. The inability to do the simple “right thing” is troubling for a number of reasons."
STATE
Arkansas: Arkansas Children's hospitals report record high number of children hospitalized with Covid-19
"24 pediatric patients were hospitalized with Covid-19 on Wednesday, a 50% increase over any previous peak during the pandemic. Of the 24 children, seven are in intensive care and two are on ventilators."
Rhode Island: Governor strongly recommends students and teachers wear masks in schools
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
GDP: Game in at 6.5% for Q2 which is strong, but below expectations of 8.4%.
But... Jason Furman points out that GDP grew almost as much in the first half of 2021 as some forecasters expected for the entire year
RESOURCES
Expanding Internet Access For K-12 Students: New summary of state activities from NGA
How Students Can Help Build Better Education Policy: Via CAP
The Cost of the School Shutdowns: Via WSJ Editorial Board
Missing Kids: 1 in 5 Preschool Students Have Disappeared From Public Schools: Via The 74. PreK enrollment drops 22%
Survey of Black Parents: From EdChoice/Morning Consult. Brief / Crosstabs
Inspiration for Your Thursday: The Fiji rugby team sang from the podium after winning the gold. The song is E Da Sa Qaqa (We Have Overcome)
Here they are singing it right after their win.
Little Teddy is recovering after having shoulder surgery where they removed a 1 inch bone fragment that was giving him some problems. He's on a strict few weeks of limited activity but should be back to his antics soon. Also, I was today years old in learning that the "cone of shame" is actually called an "Elizabethan collar." Seems more fitting given his fur boots.