Top Three
Randi Weingarten Still Wants Schools Open: Michelle Goldberg in the NYT.
"Maybe I’m just defensive, but I think it’s aged OK. It seems clear to me, as I’ve watched how public schools are responding to Omicron, that Weingarten, along with some other union leaders, is trying to avoid shutdowns, even at the risk of infuriating some union members."
"The vast majority of the country’s schools, after all, are open, even though there’s probably a better case for shutting down now than there has been at any point since the spring of 2020."
"My guess is that if we hadn’t had extended school closures last year, there might be more appetite for a brief closure now, especially given hope that Omicron could soon peak. After all, most schools may be open, but illness is making it hard for many to function."
Chicago Teachers Agree to Return for In-Person Classes: “The deal, which city officials said included provisions for additional testing and metrics that would close schools with major virus outbreaks, was approved by the union’s House of Delegates on Monday night and was expected to be voted on later in the week by rank-and-file teachers,” the NYT reports.
"This remote work action was about securing more safety for our school community and accountability that those safety measures would be there,” said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. “This is the second year in a row where we have had to take action, to get face coverings, to get a metric, to get the things that kids and other districts get.”
"Gates, upping the ante in a war of words with the mayor, said: “This mayor is unfit to lead this city and she is on a one-woman kamikaze mission to take down our schools.”
COVID-19 Self-isolation: New report from the UK.
"This study estimated that after 10 full days of self-isolation, 5% of people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 are still infectious."
"By comparison, reducing the 10-day isolation period to 7 days with 2 consecutive negative LFD test results from day 6 means an estimated 6% of people are still infectious when ending self isolation."
"The proportion of people estimated to remain infectious 5 days after symptom onset or a positive test is 31%, and at 14 days it is 1%."
Omicron
First US Report of Omicron Outcomes: Study of 53,000 cases from southern California. ~50% less hospital admission; ~75% less ICU admission; 70% reduction in hospital length of stay.
"During a period with mixed Delta and Omicron variant circulation, SARS-CoV-2 infections with presumed Omicron variant infection were associated with substantially reduced risk of severe clinical endpoints and shorter durations of hospital stay."
Omicron Boosters: Vaccines that protect against the Omicron variant should be available within months, the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna told CNBC in separate interviews Monday.
Omicron Is Forcing Us to Rethink Mild COVID: Via the Atlantic, "The staggering number of infections among the vaccinated is changing Americans’ pandemic mindset."
"By infecting so many people so quickly, Omicron is also speeding us toward an endemic future where everyone left has some immunity, so the coronavirus is eventually less deadly. But in the short term, Omicron as an accelerant is dangerous."
"With so many people getting COVID, our mindset toward the virus is changing. Breakthrough infections are the new normal. For a while, in certain highly vaccinated bubbles at least, people who got breakthrough infections racked their brains about what they did “wrong.” But now—excuse the hyperbole—everyone has COVID."
"This is where things get messier. Our Omicron strategy is also constrained, at this point, by the willingness of a wearier public. With so much virus out there, we are once again needing to flatten the curve. But back in March 2020, we understood social distancing to “flatten the curve” as a temporary measure to get us through the next weeks or months. “Well, now it’s been two years. Do we have to do this for five years? It’s just not sustainable,” says Julie Downs, who studies risk perception at Carnegie Mellon University. If the most drastic COVID restrictions—stay-at-home orders and preemptive closures—are off the table, then we cannot avoid a staggering number of Omicron cases."
Federal
ED: Staying In School In-Person guide.
USDA: Will increase school meal reimbursement rates enabling schools to receive 22% more for school lunches than they would under normal conditions.
NTIA:
Alan Davidson was confirmed by the Senate to head up NTIA. Strong bipartisan vote of 60-31
Comments are open for thethe State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program and Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program that were part of the Infrastructure package.
Covid Spending Bill: Via Punchbowl. Timing would likely be tied to or come around the same time as the government funding bill, which runs out Feb. 18. More via RollCall.
COVID-19 Research
Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2–Positive Youths Tested in Emergency Departments: Study and more from UPI.
"Just under 23% of people age 18 years or younger who tested positive for the virus in 41 hospital emergency rooms in 10 countries ultimately were admitted to the hospital. Of these, about 3% developed serious health complications."
"However, those ages 10 to 18 years were nearly 2 1/2 times as likely to develop severe symptoms compared with younger children."
"Similarly, young people with chronic health conditions had a more than two-fold higher risk for developing serious illness than otherwise healthy children."
A Market-based Solution to the Anti-Vaxxer Problem: Andreas Utermann in the FT
"One answer to the dilemma, which opponents of mandatory vaccination may find more palatable, can be found by examining how insurance markets price risk. Private insurance prices its members’ behaviour by assessing risk on an individual basis. Inexperienced drivers pay a higher premium than those with a no-claims history. Private medical insurance provides incentives for people to make healthy life choices to drive down their premiums. Travel insurance is more expensive for those engaging in riskier activities."
"...require that those who remain unvaccinated by choice pay for the cost of their own medical care, in case of Covid-induced hospitalisation."
"Some will argue that such a requirement would hit the less well-off or ethnic minorities, who are disproportionally unvaccinated, while giving a free pass to wealthier individuals. To counter that, I would propose a charge philosophically similar to that applied to speeding fines: as a percentage of (in this case annual) income."
Pope Francis Denounces ‘Cancel Culture’ and Antivaccine ‘Ideology’: Remarks and story via WSJ
"The pope lamented politicization of the debate over vaccines”
"He said, “Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease.”
"He also spoke about the effects of pandemic-related school closures on children, warning that many had taken “refuge in virtual realities that create strong psychological and emotional links but isolate them from others and the world around them.”
"First, on the personal level. Each of us has a responsibility to care for ourself and our health, and this translates into respect for the health of those around us. Health care is a moral obligation. Sadly, we are finding increasingly that we live in a world of strong ideological divides. Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts. Every ideological statement severs the bond of human reason with the objective reality of things. The pandemic, on the other hand, urges us to adopt a sort of “reality therapy” that makes us confront the problem head on and adopt suitable remedies to resolve it. Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease."
State
California: Palo Alto Unified Superintendent Don Austin sent out a request for parents to volunteer in schools to keep them open.
DC: Substitute teachers hold 'Day of Absence' to rally for better pay, benefits.
Indiana: Saturday Accelerator classes in South Bend battle learning loss, drives student recovery.
Massachusetts: ‘The best place for kids is in school’: despite COVID surge, Gov. Baker favors classroom over remote learning.
"The highest case count the state saw “was the day that kids came back from vacation,” Baker said to back up his point that the virus is more often picked up outside the classroom."
Minnesota: Osseo Area Schools move to distance learning amid 'extremely high number' of absences due to illness.
New York: Some NYC students plan class walkout, demanding a remote learning option.
Pennsylvania:
Students, parents sue North Allegheny School District over new optional mask policy.
‘It’s made planning nearly impossible’: Philly teachers scramble in district’s partial return.
Rhode Island: The National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI) says schools should immediately move to distance learning until at least next Tuesday.
Resources
'We Have Gone Backwards': Covid confusion snarls Biden White House, NBC News reports.
Black K-12 Parent Perspectives: New polling from EdChoice and Morning Consult.Good summary from Paul DiPerna.
Slate Talked to the NYC Student Whose Post About High School Life Under Omicron Went Viral: Story and original post.
One Small Step: Dave Isay’s project “One Small Step” matches strangers from opposite sides of the political spectrum to engage in discussions about what connects them. His team has already completed more than 1,000 sessions. More via 60 Mins.
Top Risks 2022:Every year, Eurasia Group produces its list of the top 10 geopolitical risks for the coming year.Here is their list for this year, a few selected ones:
No zero COVID: Demand for booster shots in wealthier countries will prevent effective vaccines from becoming more widely available. New outbreaks will slow economic growth in emerging markets, and leave poorer governments with more debt.
US midterms: "The 2022 midterms will be one of the most important in US history. The votes will take place amid allegations of fraud by both Democrats and Republicans, and they will set up a 2024 presidential election that Donald Trump, if he runs, will either win outright or try to steal. This year’s vote will not itself provoke a crisis, but it represents a historic tipping point"
For Those of You Who Need a Pick Me Up: Here you go.