TOP THREE
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Highly Protective for 12-18 Yr Olds: New CDC study (Reuters)
"Was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations among those aged 12 to 18."
CDC Considering Test to Stay: The CDC "said it is considering a coronavirus "test-to-stay" program in schools instead of quarantine." Via CNN:
"In Marietta we have been tracking students who are testing positive through test-to-stay, and it's 3%," Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools in Georgia, told CNN on Monday."
"Three percent of our students who participate in test-to-stay test positive, which means we can keep 97% of them in class," Rivera said. "That is a measure of success."
"In Kentucky, Demetrus Liggins said that out of the 402 Covid-19 tests that his school district conducted so far through its test-to-stay pilot program, only four tests yielded positive results."
"In an email to CNN, CDC said it views test-to-stay as a "promising practice" and said it's "working with multiple jurisdictions implementing test to stay to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy." But it's not clear when that test-to-stay guidance could be available."
Schools Should Do Away With Mask Mandates By the End of the Year: Argues Joseph Allen
"It’s time to set firm dates for ending masking in schools. The risk of covid-19 to kids is already very low. And with the expected arrival of vaccines for 5-to-11-year-olds in early November, schools should be able to lift their mask mandates by the end of the year at the latest."
"Data from all over the world affirms that the risk of severe outcomes from covid-19 is extremely low for kids. In highly vaccinated New England, the hospitalization rate right now for kids under 17 is about 7 per 10 million. That is not a typo."
"Here are four things we should do to prioritize the health of children:"
"Mandate vaccines for all adults in schools, as Los Angeles and New York City have done."
"Host at-school vaccination clinics for 5-to-11-year-olds in every school in the country."
"Expand use of rapid antigen tests so we can end the unnecessary quarantining of kids."
"Improve ventilation and filtration. This helps reduce the amount of virus anyone in a classroom will inhale, which lowers the likelihood of infection and likely lowers severity if infected. This is not hard or expensive. The stimulus money is there, and solutions such as installing portable air cleaners with HEPA filters are evidence-based and easy to implement. Size them right, and plug them in. That’s it."
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Boosters:
"The FDA is expected to say this week that people can get coronavirus vaccine booster shots that are different from their initial doses, according to two federal officials familiar with the situation."
CNN reports that the FDA will recommend Pfizer, Moderna boosters for people 40 and older.
Delta Plus:
UK is closely monitoring the variant, but "It is not yet considered a variant of concern, or a variant under investigation - the categories assigned to variants and the level of risk associated with them."
Eric Topol says we shouldn't be concerned at the moment.
Age As COVID Risk: Via Axios
STATE
Indiana: More Indiana schoolchildren have had COVID-19 this fall than all of last school year
Massachusetts: COVID-19 testing programs keeping kids in schools.
Montana: Three school districts go virtual or close due to COVID
New Hampshire: Why some parents are homeschooling their kids for a second year.
New York: NYC schools see few Covid cases, but testing questions linger.
Virginia: The Virginia Department of Health said it is adding an online dashboard of COVID-19 cases among children ranging in age from under 1 to 17 years old.
INTERNATIONAL
UK: "The spread of COVID-19 among children in England is fueling a rise in cases nationally and causing concern among some scientists that vaccines are being rolled out in schools too slowly."
"Data released on Tuesday showed 209,000 children in state-funded schools were off for COVID-related reasons on Oct. 14, with 12.4% of secondary school students absent on that day."
RESOURCES
If Not Now, When?: Via Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce: The Urgent Need for an All-One-System Approach to Youth Policy
We need to invest in education and plant the seeds for labor-market success, beginning at birth.
We need to imbue inclusive and culturally responsive approaches across our education and workforce systems to improve the experiences of youth from marginalized racial and ethnic backgrounds.
From kindergarten through college, we need to recognize and build on the complementarity among classroom learning, occupational exploration, and work-based learning.
We need to continue to break down the artificial barriers between secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and labor markets.
We need free college to help low-income students access postsecondary education.
We need to create a career counseling system that provides the information and mentorship that students need to plan and pursue their educational and career goals.
We need transparency, accountability, and coordination in evaluating, regulating, and administering postsecondary education and workforce training programs.
To the extent possible, we need to involve employers in developing and providing work-based education.
Federal Policy Priorities: Charting a New Path for America's Learners: New report from the Aurora Institute.
Schools Need Family Input on COVID Spending. Here’s How They Can Get It: Via Chalkbeat
How to Prepare Your Kid for a Coronavirus Exposure at School: Via NYT
Broadband Affordability Resources: Via NGA.
What Education’s Unequal, K-Shaped Recovery Really Looks Like: Via Katie Boody Adorno
From FBI to School Bus Driver: Mike Mason is a retired top FBI official who is starting a new job, as a school bus driver.
“I think this is important work, I do,’ he said, adding that he believes [school bus driving] is just as important as what he was doing at the FBI. ‘I think in our society we need to get next to the idea that there are no unimportant jobs."