Top Three
Schools Are Closing Classrooms on Fridays. Parents Are Furious: Via the NYT.
"A few of these districts have closed with very little notice, sending parents to find child care, as well as summon the wherewithal to supervise remote learning. Beyond the logistics, many parents are worried that with additional lost days of in-person school, their children will fall further behind."
"But for many schools, the remote learning days — an option that did not exist before the pandemic — are a last-ditch effort to keep teachers from resigning. They are burned out, educators said, after a year of trying to help students through learning loss, and working overtime to make up for labor shortages."
"Battles in the classroom — from mask mandates to debates over critical race theory — have also taken a toll, said Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT. What you hear from teachers is that it’s been too much,” she said. “And they’re trying the best that they can.”
"Because of school cancellations last academic year, Ms. Reynolds, who works at a University of Michigan research lab, had already run out of paid time off. Her mother was able to watch her fourth-grade son last Friday. But now she is trying to make sure someone else can be home with him every Friday this month — or lose hundreds of dollars from her paycheck."
"Last Friday, Theo Eggebrecht, 17, a senior in the arts track at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, did not have any at-home supplies for two of his arts classes that day. He said his science teacher did not show up for online class. Instead, Theo spent several hours doing chores, petting his cat and scrolling through TikTok. “I’m a senior, this is one of my last years of education,” he said."
Omicron Partly Evades Pfizer Vaccine's Protection: Two reports out - both done with unbelievable speed.
First study (press release) from South African researchers:
"Laboratory experiments found that Omicron seems to dull the power of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but also hinted that people who have received a booster shot might be better protected," the NYT reports.
"But the study showed that blood from people who had received two doses of the vaccine and had a prior infection was mostly able to neutralize the variant, suggesting that booster doses of the vaccine could help to fend off infection," Reuters reports.
Second study, this one from Pfizer:
"It’s very clear that the Pfizer-BioNTech shot “should be a three-dose vaccine” to deal with omicron, BioNTech Chief Executive Officer Ugur Sahin said on a conference call. It may make sense to give boosters even sooner than now recommended, as early as three months after the first two doses."
"Still, two doses may prove effective in preventing severe illness from Covid-19, they said, because immune cells are able to recognize 80% of parts of the spike protein that the vaccine targets," the WSJ reports.
"These preliminary data appear to show the Pfizer vaccine does in fact protect against Omicron, and that’s very good news,” said Philip Landrigan, director of Boston College’s Global Public Health and the Global Common Good program."
Go deeper: Muge Cevik breaks down the results as does Stat. Katelyn Jetelina summarizes the South African study.
Audit Shows Georgia Students Fell Months Behind: The most detailed report I've seen from a state - covers everything from learning loss, learning recovery, etc. Also includes how much funds districts are spending on different activities (e.g. tutoring and mental health). Detailed report here.
"By the end of the 2021 school year, students in majority-white schools were, on average, four months behind in math and three months behind in reading, according to the audit. Students in majority-Black schools were, on average, six months behind in math and reading."
"Although the percentage of virtual students decreased during the 2020-21 school year, most Asian-American students (58%) and almost half of Black students (49%) opted to remain virtual when schools offered an in-person option. Twenty-eight percent of Hispanic students and 15 % of white students chose to remain online when given the choice to return."
"Of 112 school system survey respondents, 85 indicated that they reduced the number of instructional days by delaying the start of the school (75 systems), extending the December holiday (19 systems), and/or eliminating school days throughout the year (16 systems). Only 24 of the 85 systems (28%) offset some missed time by extending the school year and/or adding other instructional days throughout the year. The remaining 61 systems did not make up days, impacting approximately 850,000 students."
Omicron
Is Omicron Ominous?: Eric Topol asks over at his new Substack.
"The short answer is yes."
"The immune escape property of Omicron, with potential to override our vaccines, is the central concern and can be met 3 ways: (1) booster shots, (2) an Omicron-specific vaccine, and (3) a pan-sarbecovirus vaccine which would theoretically be variant-proof."
"Early reports from South Africa indicated the possibility that cases were more mild, requiring less hospitalizations and oxygen supplementation. But the population assessed was predominantly young, had prior Covid, or were vaccinated. We can hope this is the case but will not really know the answer to this question until much larger numbers of people aged 60 plus, those without prior infection, or vaccination, or several months out from vaccination, are studied."
"Fortunately, there are no data to suggest Omicron is associated with more lethality or severe Covid than prior variants."
CDC's Initial Take: CDC Director Dr. Walensky said that more than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated,” the AP reports. “But she said nearly all of them were only mildly ill.”
Cases:
UKHSA says, "Omicron displays "significant growth advantage" over Delta and could become the dominant variant in the UK within 2 to 4 weeks."
South Africa - cases continue to rise, more than double from last week:
New cases: 19,842
Positivity rate: 26.8% (+1.9)
In hospital: 4,252 (+454)
In ICU: 368 (+14)
Scientists Discover Harder-to-Detect Version of Omicron: I didn't have Stealth Omicron on my bingo card but here we are:
"The new lineage has about half the gene variations of the original and can’t be detected with typical screening… It was found in a traveler who had arrived from South Africa and tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.”
Federal
FCC: The Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel as Chair of the FCC. She'll be the first female chair in the agency's 86 year history.
Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s second nominee to the FCC, faces a steeper path to confirmation.
Vaccine Mandate:
A federal judge in Georgia approved an injunction that says that the president’s order needs congressional approval to be valid.
The lawsuit was brought by the states of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia; the governor of Georgia; the governor of Alabama; the governor of Idaho; the governor of South Carolina; the board of regents of the University System of Georgia; and several other state officials and the Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade association
Michigan Gov. Whitmer said that President Biden’s vaccine mandate is “a problem” for her and state government, the Greenville Daily News and The Hill report.
“We’re an employer too, the state of Michigan is. I know if that mandate happens, we’re going to lose state employees. That’s why I haven’t proposed a mandate at the state level. Some states have. We have not, we’re waiting to see what happens in court.”
Build Back Better:
“Sen. Joe Manchin declined to commit to voting for Democrats’ roughly $2 trillion social-policy and climate package, citing concerns about inflation and the length of programs, weeks before the Christmas deadline party leaders are racing to meet,” the WSJ reports.
“The unknown we’re facing today is much greater than the need that people believe in this aspirational bill that we’re looking at. We’ve gotta make sure we get this right. We just can’t continue to flood the market, as we’ve done.”
COVID-19 Research
FDA Authorizes AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Antibody Drug: The drug helps to prevent COVID-19 infections in individuals who have weak immune systems or a history of severe side effects from coronavirus vaccines.
6 States Account For More Than Half of the Country’s Covid Hospitalizations: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois accounted for the majority of the increase in patients hospitalized with Covid.
Mix and Match: EU health agencies endorse mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccines.
New Plant-based Vaccine: Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline announced “positive efficacy and safety results” from a global trial using what they say is the world’s first plant-based coronavirus vaccine.
"The global Phase 3 placebo-controlled efficacy study used Canada-based Medicago’s plant-based vaccine in combination with British drugmaker GSK’s pandemic adjuvant, an ingredient that works to boost the immune response and efficacy of others’ vaccines."
At Home Tests: More reactions from yesterday's White House press briefing.
"Yes, Send Everyone Free Covid Tests" argues The New Republic.
"Jen Psaki’s Rapid-Testing Gaffe Is Not as Simple as It Seems," argues the Atlantic.
State
California:
California will start sequencing positive COVID tests taken at schools.
Marin parents could be criminally charged after knowingly sending child with Covid to school and sparking outbreak.
34,000 L.A. Unified students have not complied with vaccine mandate, signaling problems ahead.
"Shifting 34,000 students 12 and older into independent study would be challenging —especially as the district’s independent study program, called City of Angels, has been beset by staffing shortages and confusion after it was inundated at the start of the school year with about 10,000 students, a number that grew to 16,000."
"The 34,000 total by itself would make up one of the 25 largest school systems in California."
Illinois: How did COVID-19 affect attendance in southwest Illinois schools last year? Searchable database.
"In nearly every metro-east district, Black students were more likely to be chronically absent than white students. The highest rates of chronic absenteeism for Black students, though, were in school districts that are majority-Black: East St. Louis School District 189 reported a rate of 58%, and Brooklyn USD 188 reported 74%."
Kansas: Loose camel captured after fleeing nativity scene in Kansas.
Kentucky: Louisville Courier Journal with profiles on school workers who passed away from COVID.
Maine: COVID-19 cases among kids drove November infection spike.
Massachusetts: A friend's son was featured in this WCVB segment, “Here's how parents in can find COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11”
Vermont: Make way for 'Slip Sliding Safety Service': Vermont students name plow trucks.
International
WHO Europe: "The use of masks and ventilation, and regular testing, should be a standard at all primary schools and vaccinating children should be discussed and considered nationally, as part of school protection measure."
Resources
CRPE at ASU: Robin Lake, "I am truly delighted to announce that in early February 2022, the Center on Reinventing Public Education will be affiliating with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College."
More Students Flunk This High School Course Than Any Other: Blog post by Bill Gates.
Excel Tip: Did you know you can import content and data into Microsoft Excel and Word with your phone’s camera?
12 Cities Have Broken Homicide Records: “At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 — and there’s still three weeks to go in the year,” ABC News reports.
Anticipating the Top 2022 Risks in Politics & Policy: Bruce Mehlman is out with his latest deck.
Severity of Learning Lost to the Pandemic Comes Into Focus: Via Politico
School Buses That Track Your Child's Location: Via Axios
Polarization: Nearly a quarter of college students wouldn't be friends with someone who voted for the other presidential candidate — with Democrats far more likely to dismiss people than Republicans.
Parents 2021: Going Beyond the Headlines: New survey research from Learning Heroes.
DonorsChoose: Charles Best announced Alix Guerrier, the former CEO of GlobalGiving, will take the helm of the organization.
Drill Team Razzle-Dazzle: This made me nervous.