Top Three
Mental Health Challenges Within One District: There have been 303,607 contacts between Fayette County students and district counselors, social workers and other mental health professionals from the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year through January 25."
"That is significantly more than the 74,174 contacts for the same time period in 2018-19 and the 220,797 contacts with counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals for that period in 2019-20."
Vaccinated Parents Give COVID Protection to Unvaccinated Children: A new study out of Israel found that unvaccinated children may get indirect protection from COVID-19 through their vaccinated parents.
"The study found that, regardless of household size, having one vaccinated parent decreased the risk of an unvaccinated child catching COVID by 23.4% on average."
"Two vaccinated parents decreased the risk by an average of 64.9%, although the risk only decreased by 58.1% during the delta wave compared to 71.7% during the alpha wave."
"Get everyone around them vaccinated, and that will protect your kid pretty well," said Edwards, who is the associate medical director, pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland. "It's not complete protection, but it is better protection."
More via CIDRAP who also covers a second study suggesting the same.
First, You Decide That Kids Belong in School: Carrie McKean in The Atlantic, "What happened when my West Texas community—unlike many large blue cities—prioritized a normal education for children."
"COVID is real. So is our experience out here in West Texas, where schools have gone back to operating much as they did before the pandemic. Masks are optional. The kids can sit where they want at lunch and play with who they want at recess. They typically take COVID tests only when they show symptoms and quarantine only when they are sick."
"In my community, we understand that keeping kids in class is partly a matter of will. You can call us selfish and anti-science for the way we’ve handled our schools, but that is not true. Consider the devastating social, emotional, and educational consequences experienced by students across our country. Is it selfish to prioritize human connection? Is it anti-science for Americans to not mask children when much of Europe never has?"
"Our experience suggests that prioritizing normalcy does not directly correlate with more dire outcomes. Our infection curves look much like everyone else’s: waves that begin at unpredictable times but subsequently ebb. Hospitals in West Texas, just like those elsewhere, occasionally become overwhelmed. Seasonality and countless other factors make comparisons across regions difficult; our county currently has a higher rate of COVID hospitalizations than San Francisco, for example, but a lower rate than New York City or Washington, D.C."
"During the pandemic, my community has gotten some big things wrong. Vaccine refusal, whether motivated by distrust of the system that created the vaccine or the desire to prove a political point and demonstrate loyalty to a tribe, has cost red America lives and at times contributed to overwhelmed hospitals. But we got at least one thing right: After only a few months of pandemic living in the spring of 2020, we rallied to prioritize our children’s holistic well-being."
Federal
Build Back Pieces: Via Politico, "Rep. Jayapal said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called her the day after he scuttled the bill on Fox News to say he supports these portions of the House-passed legislation: $550 billion on climate change, universal pre-K, eldercare, child care, lowering prescription drug costs and housing provisions. She indicated a willingness to get parts of the package enacted sooner and then return to other components like the Child Tax Credit."
COVID-19 Research
Childcare Guidance: CDC released updated guidance today.
When Will Covid-19 Become Endemic?: Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll:
Few Americans think the pandemic will end with the virus largely eliminated and 83% believe it will end when COVID becomes more like seasonal flu.
How are schools handling COVID: 33% good, 33% bad, 33% neither.
KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: January 2022
"The public overall says that compared to previous waves of the virus, they are now “more worried” about the impact of the omicron surge on the U.S. economy and on their local hospitals, but “less worried” about the impact in their own personal lives."
"About six in ten of those who tried to purchase an at-home COVID-19 test say the tests were difficult to find, and one-third (35%) of those who tried to find an in-person test similarly report difficulty"
Americans’ Trust in Science Now Deeply Polarized: The AP reports on a new GSS/NORC poll.
Finds that 64% of Democrats have “a great deal” of confidence in the scientific community, compared with just 34% of Republicans, 34%.
As University of Georgia professor Marshall Shepherd told the AP: “We are living at a time when people would rather put urine or cleaning chemicals in their body than scientifically vetted vaccines. That is a clear convergence of fear, lack of critical thinking, confirmation bias and political tribalism.”
Related, via Stat: "The Florida controversy underscores a bizarre phenomenon: That while largely baseless vaccine hesitancy has hindered the U.S. pandemic response, Americans are tripping over themselves to take therapeutics that are experimental, expensive, and ineffective — precisely the characteristics that anti-vaccine advocates falsely ascribe to Covid immunizations, which are proven, free, and effective."
State
Florida: Andy Slavitt thread: "One of the next big questions of the pandemic outlook will likely revolve around what happens in Florida."
Georgia: Wave of student absences adds pressure on metro Atlanta schools.
Michigan: Gov. Whitmer talks with Flint school superintendent about district's indefinite virtual learning.
Ohio: Schools no longer required to conduct COVID-19 contract tracing.
Tennessee: Vanderbilt Child Health Poll of Tennessee:
Nearly 40% of parents' kids missed at least one week of school this Fall
More than one-third missed at least one day due to quarantining from COVID-19.
70% favor having remote learning availability.
International
Australia: Simulation model allows for safe operation.
"A research team at the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH) developed a school simulation model that shows how and how likely the virus spreads in different school settings. The model also allows to calculate the effectiveness of (bundles of) measures against virus spread."
Resources
The Catalyze Challenge: A collaboration between WFF, American Student Assistance, the Joyce Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation, is returning for a second round of grant funding.
The Pandemic Has Dashed and Deferred Too Many College Dreams: Via Christensen Institute.
National Survey of Public School Parent Voters: Hart Research Associates and Lake Research Partners poll for AFT.
"Fully 78% express satisfaction with their school’s overall handling of the pandemic, including 82% of urban parents, 77% of Black parents, and 74% of Hispanic parents. More specifically, 83% are satisfied with the school’s efforts to keep students and staff safe"
Let Kids Take Their Masks Off After the Omicron Surge: Says Michelle Goldberg in the NYT.
High Quality Instructional Materials & Professional Development Network Case Study: New CCSSO resource explores the innovative ways these states are supporting district decision-making and putting stronger materials in the hands of more educators. It includes measurable data on the ways state policy is having a positive impact on students through increased adoption and use of high-quality instructional materials.
Patrick Mahomes' Heart Rate From Historic Playoff Win: The Kansas City QB wore a Whoop that tracked his heart rate throughout the game.
Maryland Man Known as "PianoDadDan": Can play any song on the piano after listening to it once. More via Fox5.
Northern Lights: This doesn't even look real.