Top Three
Moderna Receives Full Approval:
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to fully recommend the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in adults 18 and older. Presentation materials.
STAT's Helen Branswell has a good thread of the meeting, including the discussion around the myocarditis risks.
CDC Director endorsed later this afternoon.
The FDA had approved it on Monday.
Jobs Growth: 467,000 last month beating expectations of 150,000. Massive upward revisions too - a combined 700,000 added for November and December. Helpful graph from the Washington Post. And Calculated Risk plots the recovery against previous recoveries.
New Study on Masks: California Department of Public Health study published by the CDC.
"People who reported always wearing face masks or respirators, such as N95 masks, in public indoor settings were significantly less likely to later test positive for the coronavirus than people who said they never wore masks in such places," according to the NYT.
The study included more than 3,000 California residents who received P.C.R. test results between Feb. 18 and Dec. 1, 2021. Roughly half had tested positive for the virus.
Several limitations listed including that this was pre-Omicron and it was self-reported data.
COVID-19 Research
Children Vaccinations Fall: COVID-19 vaccinations among children ages 5 to 11 have fallen to their lowest levels since the shots were first approved, Bloomberg reports. Only 31% of kids in this group have initiated a vaccination series, compared to 75% of American adults.
The CDC Adds Wastewater Data: To its Covid-19 tracker.
The Covid Vaccine We Need Now May Not Be a Shot: Via the NYT, "nasal vaccines under development around the world may make better boosters by stopping the coronavirus in the airways."
"The Omicron variant made it all too clear that even three doses of a vaccine, while they provide powerful protection against severe illness, may not prevent infection. That’s because injected vaccines produce antibodies in the blood, comparatively few of which make it to the nose, the entryway for the virus."
"Nasal vaccines are “the only way to really circumvent person-to-person transmission,” said Jennifer Gommerman, an immunologist at the University of Toronto. “We can’t live forever sheltering vulnerable people and boosting them so that their antibody levels stay artificially high.”
"Nasal vaccines produce a special set of antibodies, called IgA, that thrive on mucosal surfaces like the nose and throat. And these antibodies may wane more slowly A vaccine delivered with a nebulizer could coat the entire airway, including the lungs, with IgA antibodies. “It’s not just the tip of the nose that’s protected,” Dr. Iwasaki said."
State
Florida: Sarasota County asks parents to teach.
Kansas: K-12 school mask mandate extended for two weeks by Kansas City Council.
Massachusetts: Via the Boston Globe, "The science behind the state’s school mask policy is outdated, some experts say. Should the benchmarks change?"
"Policies that were developed for the fall semester need to be updated to reflect where things stand now, not where they stood in the fall,” said Dr. Westyn Branch-Elliman, an infectious diseases specialist and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who advises state education leaders on COVID and helped develop the mask policy."
"But experts did suggest the state use a range of benchmarks as it considers updating its mask rule. Those include linking mask requirements to the amount of COVID detected in waste water, or to the infection rates in local communities, or the ability of hospitals to handle increased caseloads."
Michigan: Flint Schools gave $22,500 COVID bonuses before shifting indefinitely to remote learning.
North Carolina: Parent group wants state to force Union County schools to follow COVID-19 guidelines.
South Carolina: Leaders are changing up COVID-19 testing requirements to keep more students in school.
Economic Recovery
Costs of Day Care: The Economic Policy Institute says in 33 states, day care for a 1-year-old costs more than in-state college tuition.
Resources
How To Use K-12 COVID Relief Funds Strategically: ERS released a set of tools to help districts, schools, and states take on ESSER planning and implementation with a "Do Now, Build Toward" approach.
ESSER Plan Communication: Via ERS, 5 Actions to Build Alignment Among District Leaders, School Boards, and Cabinets
The Importance of Virtual Learning for Families and At-risk Students: Via Julie Young and William Donovan.
Without Clear Rules, There’s No Way to Judge How School Relief Funds Are Being Spent: Marguerite Roza in The 74.
Still Feeling Pandemic Miserable?: Alex Janin in the WSJ. "That exhaustion you are feeling is resilience fatigue. Here’s how to handle it."
"As we approach the start of the third year of the pandemic, many people feel more depleted and less able to complete daily routines, psychologists say.”
“The phenomenon is called resilience fatigue, which is the exhaustion that comes after a prolonged period of having to stay motivated or positive, says Brad Kennedy, chief operating officer of addiction treatment center."
“On mile 18, everyone questions whether they can finish the marathon,” says Mr. Kennedy. “But now, imagine the finish line is moving.”
Winter Olympics: Previews look promising.