Top Three
History Shows That A School COVID Vaccine Mandate Could Require Exemptions: Elena Conis in the Washington Post.
"The key to winning legislative approval, in many cases, was broad exemption clauses. The story of California’s 1960s polio vaccine mandate shows why — and reminds us that just as a vaccine is tailored to its target disease, successful mandates require tailoring too."
"Polio was an exception. The disease, caused by viral infection, had first appeared around the turn of the 20th century, causing sporadic but increasingly larger outbreaks over several decades. By the 1940s, polio was unavoidable, and it was serious.... Cases reached a staggering height of more than 520,000 in 1952 — a number that seems almost quaint today in the context of covid."
"The March of Dimes foundation took the lead in supporting research on a polio vaccine. When the government approved the first vaccine, developed by scientist Jonas Salk, for use in 1955, people wept and cheered and ran into the streets"
"Ohio and North Carolina were the first states to tackle the problem with the force of law, passing new mandates that made the vaccine required for young children in day care or school. California then followed."
"With an “escape clause,” Rumford and Delotto knew the bill would pass. They decided to take a suggestion from Hart and strike the word “religious” before the word “beliefs.” With that, the bill became law. California children, like those in Ohio and North Carolina, would have no choice but to get the polio vaccine — unless they or their parents didn’t believe in it."
"That wasn’t the end of the story, by far. As it happened, Rumford and Delotto’s bill passed the same year Congress passed landmark federal vaccination legislation. President John F. Kennedy’s Vaccination Assistance Act allotted federal money to help states ensure that as many children were vaccinated as possible. By the time the California law went into effect, regulators had approved several new vaccines for children against such diseases as measles and rubella, which the California legislature added to the mandate, replete with its broad exemption."
"If school coronavirus vaccine mandates are introduced in the near future, they will enter an era characterized by some of the most stringent vaccination laws in over a century. And they will undoubtedly kick the Fred Harts of today into high gear. Appeasing Hart and his allies cost little in the 1960s, a time when even health officials were tepid on the use of mandates. Polio continued its decline and outbreaks dissipated, even with the broad exemption in place."
Should Schools Require the COVID Vaccine? NPR says many experts believe it's too soon.
"Vaccines have been controversial since the very first vaccine was developed against smallpox," says Elena Conis, a historian of medicine at the University of California, Berkeley. "And vaccination became increasingly controversial when states began to make it mandatory."
"The key U.S. Supreme Court ruling on school vaccine mandates came in the 1922 case Zucht v. King. "The court was very clear: This is not a liberty violation," says James Hodge, a professor of law at Arizona State University and a member of the Network for Public Health Law. "This is not a constitutional issue. States and localities can impose school vaccination requirements, period. And as a result, we saw obviously 80-plus more years of schools doing exactly that through state law."
"I would say in the next three to six months, encouraging a self-directed push to get people to vaccinate their their kids is probably what will help it to not be so 'line in the sand,' " says Dr. Stella Safo, founder of Just Equity for Health, a New York City-based health care company that focuses on equitable care delivery. "And then I think down the line, just as we've mandated that you have to be vaccinated against chickenpox before you can go to school, I think COVID will eventually be added to that portfolio. "
FDA Authorizes and CDC Advisory Committee Recommends Boosters for All Adults:
"Authorizing the use of a single booster dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older helps to provide continued protection against COVID-19, including the serious consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D."
“The FDA has determined that the currently available data support expanding the eligibility of a single booster dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 18 years of age and older,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Streamlining the eligibility criteria and making booster doses available to all individuals 18 years of age and older will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one.”
On whether all 18+ may get a boost 6 months following second mRNA shot: Yes: 11 No: 0
On whether all 50+ should get a booster: Yes: 11 No: 0
More via Stat and great live blog by Stat's Helen Branswell
This was interesting too, "There was not a single state that voiced opposition to this move," ASTHO president told the CDC advisory committee.
Federal
Reconciliation: The House passed the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act this morning along a vote of 220-213.
Treasury: Released a highlight report describing how states and communities are using their portion of the $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. A few interesting examples:
Delaware "intends to invest at least $80 million to achieve universal broadband access, becoming the first state to close every last mile of connectivity statewide."
Minnesota: "The primary goal of these funds is to support summer programming that will support academic enrichment and mental health starting in summer 2021 for students, families, educators, communities, and schools across Minnesota."
Maryland: "Each county board of education, including Baltimore City, shall: provide tutoring and supplemental instruction for public school students in grades 4 through 12 to address learning loss from the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on education; establish and implement a summer school program for public school students.”
Broward County has programmed $565,000 for incentives, including modest gift cards and prizes, to encourage vaccination in population groups and geographic areas that have proven more challenging to increase levels of vaccinations.
Polk County has initiated a cash and tuition scholarship incentive program to encourage all Polk County citizens to become vaccinated.
As an aside, I published a paper describing how these funds could be used to establish an Emergency Education Benefit - essentially a temporary cash benefit for parents to with help with the financial burdens resulting from a school closure or quarantine.
State
Vaccine for 6 Months to 5 Years: Dr. Fauci says children from 6 months to 5 years old may be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the spring of 2022.
More Than 1 million People May Lost their Sense of Smell After COVID-19 Infection: Study.
FDA Wants 55 years to Process FOIA Request Over Vaccine Data: Reports Reuters.
"That’s how long the Food & Drug Administration in court papers this week proposes it should be given to review and release the trove of vaccine-related documents responsive to the request. If a federal judge in Texas agrees, plaintiffs Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency can expect to see the full record in 2076."
"Justice Department lawyers representing the FDA note in court papers that the plaintiffs are seeking a huge amount of vaccine-related material – about 329,000 pages."
"The plaintiffs, a group of more than 30 professors and scientists from universities including Yale, Harvard, UCLA and Brown, filed suit in September in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeking expedited access to the records."
"The FDA proposes releasing 500 pages per month on a rolling basis, noting that the branch that would handle the review has only 10 employees and is currently processing about 400 other FOIA requests."
Automated Digital Notification of COVID-19 Diagnoses Through Text and Email Messaging: Via the CDC
"Overall, 56% of patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result were notified by telephone call or digital notification within 24 hours of report in January 2021, compared with 15% during November 23–December 23, 2020."
Zero-Covid is Not Going to Happen: Experts predict a steep rise in US cases this winter, warns the Guardian.
New Vax War: A fight is emerging over whether you need a booster to be called "fully vaccinated," Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.
State
Florida: Bans strict vaccine mandates in schools and businesses.
Maryland: Via the Washington Post, "As more students are vaccinated, Md. education leaders rethink masks in schools."
Massachusetts: Three doctors write in an oped: "Why a CDC investigation of Boston Public Schools COVID-19 outbreaks is needed now."
"The back-to-back outbreaks at three BPS schools is a cautionary yet insufficiently understood tale for all schools grappling with how to keep children healthy and in classrooms. To learn from these outbreaks — including gaps in prevention and response — an epidemiological investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urgently needed."
"Insufficient communication left families dependent on intel from other caregivers. About one-third of families kept their children home during the outbreak, fearing in-school transmission. Fewer students in classrooms may have limited spread — however, it also meant fewer kids were getting tested at school. Updates to the BPS COVID-19 dashboard were so delayed they were not useful for real-time decision-making."
"Roughly half of the fourth-grade at the Manning School have tested positive. Our confidence in BPS strategies has eroded. Yet we continue to drop our children off at school, not knowing what we or BPS could have done — and can do — to better protect our children, their peers, and their teachers."
Michigan: Gov. Whitmer announces pilot COVID-19 test program for schools: MI Backpack Home Test.
New York: Three middle schools take different paths through COVID spikes
"More than 220 have been quarantined at East Greenbush's Goff Middle School this month, but the suburban Rensselaer County district chose not to suspend in-person learning. The district saw 76 cases in the last three weeks, with 18 of them occurring at Goff. Since the start of the year, the 4,000-student district has seen 125 cases."
"In Washington County's Hudson Falls district, which enrolls about 2,400 students, there were 60 active cases districtwide on Thursday, with 18 of those cases at the Hudson Falls Intermediate School. As of Friday, there were 333 students out of school district wide due to quarantine."
"Albany's William S. Hackett Middle School has 11 new COVID-19 cases with a total of 109 contacts required to quarantine since the start of the month. Reflecting a more cautious approach, the school on Wednesday switched to remote learning through Monday, Nov. 29, and has arranged for COVID-19 surveillance testing in the building."
North Carolina: A new High Point University Poll found:
74% of adults think the pandemic has negatively impacted the academic growth of school-age children.
74% say the pandemic has made it harder for graduating high school seniors to transition to college or the workforce.
76% think the pandemic has negatively impacted the social development of school-age children.
Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Education, in partnership with the Niswonger Foundation, announced spring registration for the AP Access for ALL is open for free, online AP classes to eligible high school students.
Texas: This Fort Worth ISD program offers incentives to students, parents to attend school.
"Fort Worth ISD is continuing efforts to reengage and support students who have struggled with academics over the course of the pandemic by offering incentives to attend a Saturday Learning program for students in grades 1-3, called Saturday Learning Quest."
International
Austria: Became the first country in Europe to say it would mandate that its whole population be vaccinated against coronavirus as it reimposed a nationwide lockdown to battle a surge in cases,” the Washington Post reports.
“The extraordinary measure by Austria, which only days ago separated itself from the rest of Europe by introducing a lockdown for the unvaccinated, who are driving a surge of infections, made for another alarming statement about the severity of the fourth wave of the virus in Europe, now the epicenter of the pandemic.”
Canada: Approved the use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, adding more than 2.8 million young people to those eligible for a shot.
"Health Canada based its approval on a clinical trial comprising 4,600 children, Dr. Sharma said, with 3,100 children receiving two doses of the vaccine spaced three weeks apart and 1,500 receiving a placebo."
"There were four adverse reactions unconnected to the vaccinations, and none of the children experienced heart inflammation or severe allergic reactions."
Germany: According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's public health authority, the highest seven-day incidence rate is currently among 10-14-year-olds, followed by 5-9 year old and 15-19-year-olds.
"In its weekly report, the RKI recorded 856 outbreaks in schools over the past four weeks. The numbers are higher than in all previous waves of the pandemic."
Germany's parliament has just passed new COVID regulations. Under the new law, widespread school closures will no longer be permitted.
"There are no nationwide figures on current school closures — but there are other indicators. According to Germany's Conference of Education Ministers, 45,500 school-age children are registered as infected, and 87,000 out of 10 million are in quarantine. In the previous week, there were 23,000 COVID-19 cases among school children and 54,000 quarantine cases."
Economic Recovery
How Child Care Became the Most Broken Business in America: Via Bloomberg:
"Looking after young children comes with a litany of regulations to ensure the programs are safe. There are square footage requirements, zoning restrictions, earthquake preparedness plans, fire safety codes, CPR certifications, nutritional guidelines, rules about parking and outdoor space, liability insurance."
"Child care in the U.S. is the rare example of an almost entirely private market in which the service offered is too expensive for both consumers and the businesses that provide it. This reality is reflected in two alarming facts: In most states, putting a baby in a licensed child-care facility costs more than in-state college tuition, yet the people who provide that care make an average of about $24,000 a year, less than a fast-food worker or janitor, even though 87% of them have some form of higher education. Every year a quarter of the industry’s workers leave."
"All this adds up to an exceptionally precarious business model; according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the typical child-care center’s profit margin is only 1%."
"Today almost 70% of children under 6 in the U.S. live in a home where all available adults work. Child care is so expensive—about 13% of the typical two-parent American family’s income and 36% of a single parent’s—it affects people’s ability to make a living."
Broadband Subscriber Growth Stalls: Via Axios.
"A new report from Kagan, the media research unit of S&P Global, shows that broadband subscriber growth has "cooled significantly in the third quarter," stalling in growth for the first time in three years"
Related: back in September, "the FCC's Emergency Broadband Benefit still has $2.7B out of $3.2B available."
Resources
PIE Network Summer Survey: Fascinating survey showing the priorities of ed reform organizations and where they're engaged around the country.
2022 Priorities
Why Are More Black Kids Suicidal? Via NYT
"More research is needed, but a government study conducted last year suggested that Black children and adolescents who died by suicide were more likely than white youths to have experienced a crisis in the two weeks before they died."
More Than 20 School Districts Extend Thanksgiving Break for Teacher and Student Mental Health Days: Via CNN
States Still Waiting on Ed Department Guidance to Restart School Accountability: Via The 74
Special Education Parents and COVID: Morning Consult/EdChoice poll (Summary / Crosstabs)
A Roller Coaster of a Year: Jasmine Gardosi was commissioned by the Literacy Trust to write a poem about the pandemic.
So she decided to perform it... on a roller coaster. Hysterical.
I love the line “why does it feel like we’re going backwards and around in circles at the same time…”