TOP THREE
Pfizer Boosters: A number of developments in the last 24 hours including some confusion over what it means for teachers.
The FDA last evening authorized boosters for high-risk individuals, people 65 and up, and.... teachers: The FDA's announcement said
"After considering the totality of the available scientific evidence and the deliberations of our advisory committee of independent, external experts, the FDA amended the EUA for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for a booster dose in certain populations such as health care workers, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers and those in homeless shelters or prisons, among others."
That's interesting because I don't believe the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee considered essential workers (including teachers) last week much less voted on the issue.
Advisers unanimously supported the booster for adults older than 65 and for residents of long-term care facilities.
And 13 of the committee’s 15 members also endorsed the shots for people aged 50 to 64 years with medical conditions that leave them at risk for severe Covid-19.
After a protracted discussion, a majority of the panel recommended the boosters for adults aged 18 to 49 years with underlying medical conditions, based on their individual benefit and risk.
"They disagreed most on whether some people in some occupations or settings are at heightened risk. By a close vote of 9 to 6, they voted to exclude people at risk because of their occupations. This measure would have applied to health care workers, teachers and other workers who do not meet the other criteria."
"But some members of the C.D.C. panel said there was little evidence to suggest that vaccinated teachers, and even health care workers, are at risk of repeated exposure to the virus."
“I mean, we might as well just say just give it to everybody 18 and over,” committee member Dr. Pablo Sanchez said before voting against the proposal.
I'm not sure where this leaves teachers (and other essential workers). The FDA authorized boosters for them. The CDC advisory panel doesn't recommend it. So it may come down to what the CDC director decides.
Tennessee Sees Performance Boost: Reports student performance improvement after summer camp program
K-8 students had a 10.49 percentage-point improvement in math, and the average middle school specific improvement was 6 percentage points.
ELA scores improved 5.97 percentage points overall over the summer with a 7.34 percentage-point increase at the elementary school level and a 0.66 percentage-point increase in middle school.
How Chicago Teachers Are Using Social-emotional Learning in the Classroom: Via Today
FEDERAL
White House: Pledged:
To purchase 500 million additional doses of vaccines to share globally.
Donate an additional $370 million to support administering the vaccines worldwide
$380 million for the COVAX vaccination initiative.
Some are arguing the targets are too low.
ED: Announced over $40 million to new cohort of Promise Neighborhoods grantees
FCC: The FCC has expanded the school years that will be eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
In addition to households that participated in the free and reduced price school breakfast or lunch programs in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, households that participated in the 2021-2022 school year will now be eligible.
FDA: KHN article discussing why the Biden Administration hasn't appointed an FDA commissioner yet.
"But still no sign of an FDA nomination. Biden officials reportedly considered multiple potential candidates throughout the spring, including Woodcock; former top FDA official and Maryland health secretary Joshua Sharfstein; former FDA official Michelle McMurry-Heath; and Scripps Research Translational Institute director Dr. Eric Topol (who confirmed to KHN he wasn’t interested). Then the process seemed to deadlock."
“People are just flabbergasted,” said Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD and former FDA official. “We don’t even have rumors of viable candidates.”
Federal Budget: “The White House budget office will tell federal agencies on Thursday to begin preparations for the first shutdown of the U.S. government since the pandemic began, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill struggle to reach a funding agreement,” the Washington Post reports.
But this is really just an automatic trigger based on the number of days out. See page 465 of these instructions OMB sent to agencies last month.
The Speaker says, fret not - a CR will be passed next week.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Hopeful Trends: New coronavirus cases are continuing to decline, and some experts are cautiously optimistic the virus will continue to wane even into the fall and winter, Axios reports.
"But deaths have increased by about 33% over the past two weeks, to an average of about 2,000 per day. Deaths are a lagging indicator — the last number to go up when a new wave begins, and the last to go down when that wave is receding."
Ad Council / COVID Collaborative Release Emotional PSA Targeting Vaccine-Hesitant Young Adults: Story here / watch the ad here.
Outbreak of Delta Variant Infections Among Incarcerated Persons in a Federal Prison: New CDC study that actually is reassuring.
The CDC studies an outbreak of 172 caes in a Texas prison. Most of the cases were vaccinated individuals, but 3 of the 4 hospitalizations - and the only death - were unvaccinated.
"Although hospitalizations, deaths, and attack rates were higher among unvaccinated than vaccinated persons, the duration of positive serial test results was similar between these two groups, and infectious virus was cultured from both vaccinated and unvaccinated participants."
Vaccine Hesitancy: A new Pew Research survey finds that Americans who relied most on former President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force for Covid-19 news in the early days of the pandemic are now among those least likely to have been vaccinated against the virus.\
Unbeelievable: Forager honey bees could be used to inspect large geographical areas for presence of airborne SARS-COV-2, according to a study shared by Dr. Ali Nouri, Assistant Secretary at U.S. Department of Energy.
Study is here but after combing through it I really don't understand what all the buzz is about.
I'll bee leaving now.
STATE
California: Urban Discovery Schools will be the first public schools in San Diego County to require the vaccine for eligible students.
DC: This is crazy: DCPS Reporting Parents for ‘Educational Neglect' After Kids Miss In-Person School
Michigan: Some Michigan school districts face the prospect of returning millions of federal COVID relief dollars after federal officials warned that Michigan’s plan to distribute the money may be illegal.
"The U.S. Education Department informed state leaders that the plan didn’t appear to meet a legal requirement to “take into account the ‘disproportionate impact’ of the pandemic on underserved populations,” according to the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators."
New York:
ABC News covers The First Tech Fund (a VELA grantee) efforts to increase digital access during COVID for underserved high school students.
Texas: Texas school district ignores AG’s threat on mask mandates and COVID cases drop 84%
Virginia: "Virginia is leading on ending the broadband divide", argues former FCC Commissioner Pai
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Retail Rising: New store opening announcements are up 58% from 2020.
The 2010s Will Go Down as a Lost Decade in American Entrepreneurship: New EIG research.
RESOURCES
There’s a Fiscal Cliff Coming, and Some Districts Appear Hell-bent on Making It Worse: Via Marguerite Roza
While American Schools Have Roared Back to Life, Media Coverage Has Focused on Setbacks: Via Alexander Russo
For Parents of Disabled Children, School Mask Wars Are Particularly Wrenching: Via NYT
How Some Schools Are Using Weekly Testing To Keep Kids In Class — And COVID Out: Via NPR
Love This: Fans bring their dogs to "Bark at the Park" night at the Seattle Mariners game. The stadium has the "Simba Cam" where people hold up their dogs 'Lion King style' for a chance to be featured on the jumbotron.