Hope everyone had a good weekend. Tonight's update is longer than usual since it seems everyone had an opinion on the CDC reversing itself with the mask guidance, the research it used to make that decision, and/or the media's coverage of the research. So tonight's update pairs well with a Sea of Confusion.
TOP THREE
Updated AAP Guidance: On supporting emotional, behavioral needs of children in the pandemic
"Due to the pervasiveness of pandemic-related changes, the AAP recommends that behavioral and mental health surveillance and evidence-based screening be integrated into every office visit. It helps to implement a universal surveillance/screening strategy."
"Pediatricians should ask about challenges related to remote learning, such as whether the family has appropriate learning spaces at home with access to technology/internet service. They may need to reassure families who are reluctant to send their children back to school in person."
Return to School Roadmap: Released by the U.S. Department of Education (Fact Sheet / Guide / Checklist)
Prioritize the health and safety of students, staff, and educators
Build school communities and support students’ social, emotional, and mental health
Accelerate academic achievement.
New York Considering Vaccine Mandate for Teachers: Gov. Cuomo said teachers may face mandatory vaccination if COVID-19 numbers keep rising. New York teachers union opposes.
FEDERAL
ED: "Secretary Miguel Cardona has a message for schools across the country ahead of the new school year: Students need to be in classrooms," NPR reports.
White House: Fact Sheet: Reopening Schools and Rebuilding With Equity
HHS: "Two more whistleblowers have come forward to allege that children were mistreated by contractors and senior federal employee managers at a Department Health and Human Services migrant shelter in Fort Bliss, Texas, earlier this year, and also say HHS told them to downplay hundreds of Covid infections among children held at the facility," NBC News reports.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
WHO Does Not See Increase Delta Threat for Children: "Let me be very clear: we are not seeing the Delta variant specifically target children".
Nearly 9 Million Teens Received Pfizer: With very few serious side effects.
Texas Study Shows 66% of School-age Kids Do Not Have COVID-19 immunity: Story
"Since September, more than 12,000 Texans have gotten antibody blood tests for the study. There are about 500 school-age participants in the survey, and 66% have no protection against the virus as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads."
“Kids will probably get this Delta variant. They probably won’t have too big of problems – a runny nose, taste loss or smelling loss or fatigued – but none of those are life-threatening. What is life-threatening is if they go home and someone is immunocompromised, and they pass it to them,” said Dr. Steven Kelder, a professor of epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin.
Study on Viral Loads: New study.
"We found that fully vaccinated patients had significantly lower odds of moderate or severe outcomes following infection by the SARS-CoV-2 VOC B.1.617.2."
"Vaccination was associated with lower peak measures of systemic inflammation, fewer symptoms, including more asymptomatic infection, and better clinical outcomes."
The CDC’s Delta Variant Panic: From the WSJ Editorial Board.
"Which brings us to the Delta variant. CDC evidence suggests Delta is more than twice as transmissible as the original virus strain, akin to the chickenpox, which is why cases are rising even in places with relatively high vaccination rates. But don’t freak out like the CDC. Vaccines are still very protective."
"But let’s be clear, unlike the CDC: The virus will never be eradicated. It will eventually become endemic, and the public-health goal is to protect people from getting severely ill."
The Provincetown Covid Data is Actually Good News (If You Are Vaccinated): Argues Ignu Yun
The Costs of Selling Covid Fear: James Surowiecki: "Covid vaccines are incredibly effective. The media’s overhyping of new research from the CDC is making people think otherwise."
"The problem, then, was not what the press wrote about, but rather how it wrote about it, and, even more, how it hyped it. Some news stories had an almost panicky tone"
"Most egregious was a New York Times tweet promoting the newspaper’s big piece on the new data, a tweet that said the CDC report found that the Delta variant “may be spread by vaccinated people as easily as the unvaccinated.” Again, this wasn’t exactly false. But it was profoundly misleading"
Visualizing the Data: This graphic was making the rounds through Twitter over the weekend.
"Every piece of data from real-life shows the vaccines work very, very well— yes, even against Delta. Just checked US vaccine breakthrough hospitalizations. It's 6,587 people among the ~163,000,000 vaccinated: or 0.004%."
And Via Axios: "Less than 0.1% of vaccinated Americans tested positive for COVID-19"
Show Us the Denominator!: Lots of discussion over the weekend about the importance of denominators. For example,
STATE
Alabama: The Department of Public Health recommends masks, 3ft distancing in K-12 schools
California: LA Times: "Many parents who thought their children faced limited risks of getting the coronavirus are now reassessing their stance."
Colorado: State health officials recommend but won’t require masks for K-12 school staffers, students
Georgia: Second Clayton County school starts year online after outbreak of COVID-19
Massachusetts: Massachusetts Teachers Association calls state decision to encourage, but not require, masking in schools ‘reckless’
Mississippi:
Mississippi parents concerned about sending children back to school as COVID cases rise
At least 14 districts are starting school in July in order to help kids catch up.
Tennessee:
House Speaker Sexton said he will ask Gov. Lee for a special legislative session if school districts mandate masks or close.
TN DOE released TCAP results. Chalkbeat reports the results "showed a 5% decrease in proficiency since 2019, the last time that public school students in grades 3-11"
Texas:
Pflugerville ISD adds virtual learning option for 2021-22 school year.
Communities In Schools of Houston (CIS) is taking its on-campus supports online as it expands to serve students learning through Texas Connections Academy at Houston (TCAH)
INTERNATIONAL
Germany: Will offer booster against COVID-19, vaccines for children 12-17 Israel: Proposal would keep schools open even if COVID spreads, thanks to rapid COVID testing
RESOURCES
Unvaxxed, Unmasked and Putting Our Kids at Risk: Via Jessica Valenti in the NYT
Our Children Will Suffer If Adults Can't Get School Covid Precautions Right: OpEd by Comilla Sasson and Robin Cogan
"We will not be lighting up cigarettes in our children's classrooms. I don't expect my child's teacher to light up a cigarette in his or her classroom either. The thought sounds ludicrous to most of us. Why? Because secondhand smoke has been proven to kill."
"Think of being unvaccinated like being a smoker who is spreading their secondhand smoke. Let's call it secondhand SARS-CoV-2 (which causes Covid-19)."
When School Returns Let's Focus on Resilience — Not What's Been Lost: Via Dr. Javaid Siddiqi
Hire more educators of color
Support social-emotional learning through arts and elective courses
Introduce real-world applications of their learning
Back to School, Post-pandemic: What Might It Look Like?: Via Brnno Manno who digs through a bunch of polling and finds:
Many parents don’t want “the old normal.”
Many parents want a more transparent system.
Online learning is here to stay.
The Fallout from the Pandemic’s K-Shaped Recession May Be Felt By Students for Years: New series from The 74.
Prospect of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Adds Tension in Districts: Via K12 Dive
Schools Will Be Open But Safety Will Be Uneven: Via Governing. "Unlike last year, kids will be in classrooms almost everywhere. Politics will interfere with safety measures to protect them against the delta variant, notably mask mandates."
Use This Equation to Determine, Diagnose, and Repair Trust: Really interesting piece by Anne Raimondi in First Round Review. Written for tech companies but the ideas could easily apply to organizations and public policy institutions.
You Made It To August! Celebrate like this toddler and bus driver busting a groove.