I have to say there was a lot of disappointment over the weekend. A bit of whiplash from things going in one direction before reversing course and dashing hopes. Confusing communication. Some questionable decisions by the officials.
But enough about the Cincinnati Bengals and the Super Bowl. Oh, and parents are still trying to process the FDA reversal on Friday. A few new developments on that below, but some good news: the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee announced that Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar will perform at their next meeting.
Top Three
Vaccine for Under 5s: Scott Gottlieb on what led to the decision to postpone the EUA request from the FDA:
"There were no new safety issues coming out of the data set, the issue here is the ability for the FDA and for Pfizer to clearly define the level of efficacy that the vaccine is delivering."
"There was additional data that was submitted to the FDA late last week on Thursday and Friday that changed the FDA's perception of the absolute efficacy of the vaccine."
"And given that is changing, that's evolving, new data is accruing, it's hard for the FDA to give its advisers a fixed snapshot of what the absolute efficacy is of this clinical trial."
On CNBC, he offered this sense of what we might expect from the CDC: "I expect if this vaccine is authorized ... I believe the CDC will issue what we call a permissive recommendation. They're not going to say children under the age of 5 'should' get vaccinated, they'll say something like they 'could' get vaccinated."
Ezra Klein asks: "Pfizer's submitted data says 2 doses works for very young kids. FDA pushing Pfizer to test three doses to get a stronger response for older kids suggest. So why not let parents who want to vaccinate their children, start vaccinating their children?"
Mask Mandates:
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warns easing mask mandates too early can cause disruption in schools.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy when asked by the AP when asked about a future without masks: "I can imagine that future. I can’t tell you if it’s coming in a couple of months or in six months or in 12 months."
Gov. Polis: "There's no right or wrong here... If you're somebody who doesn't like wearing masks, respect those who do. If you're somebody who likes wearing masks, please respect those who don't."
Lansing State Journal compared COVID-19 cases at schools with and without mask mandates.
DC Mayor Bowser is lifting the mask mandate for most businesses beginning March 1, the day of the State of the Union address. Starting tomorrow, D.C. businesses will no longer need to verify if patrons are vaccinated. But, masks will still be required in schools.
A lot of chatter over Twitter yesterday over how many people were maskless at the Super Bowl but students would need to wear masks today. This National Review piece is probably the best summary of the argument.
Dallas Morning News: It’s Time For Schools To End Mask Mandates
Gov. Newsom wants to end school masks, but teachers say not yet, reports Politico.
“We support developing a plan for transitioning away from masking in schools — an off-ramp — that is based on science and not politics,” CFT President Jeff Freitas said in a statement.
As schools drop mask mandates, parents of kids with disabilities prepare to fight.
What's Behind The Blue-State COVID Rules Awakening?, Via Kristen Soltis Anderson's excellent Codebook.
"Rather, the turn away from COVID restrictions seems less about them having become deeply unpopular overnight, but rather that public opinion has soured on our ability to win the fight against COVID at all."
"This is the most compelling datapoint driving the notion that people are absolutely over it and hoping to be freed from whatever restrictions remain. Even progressives who may feel like they can't come out and say to a pollster "I'm ready to stop wearing a mask at Safeway" can at least say they are fed up with everything and ready to move on in a more general sense."
"Monmouth's excellent polling on this found in December that "most Americans 'worn out' by COVID". By January, their polling showed seven in ten Americans "agree with the sentiment that 'it’s time we accept that Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives'."
Via Bloomberg, "Mask Mandates Didn’t Make Much of a Difference Anyway."
"It is intuitive that a barrier ought to prevent germs from being emitted into the air. But if that’s true, why isn’t there more evidence for the benefits of masking two years into the pandemic?"
"Experts associated with The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota have laid out a more complex analysis: Given the current understanding that the virus is transmitted in fine aerosol particles, it’s likely an infectious dose could easily get through and around loose-fitting cloth or surgical masks."
“It’s absolutely appropriate to relax mask mandates as cases drop below a threshold, particularly in areas with high vaccination and particularly once hospitals are not in crisis mode,” says Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine physician and a dean at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Risk Assessment Tools: Really interesting presentation from British Columbia health authorities that provides assessing hospitalization risk by age, vaccination status, and risk conditions.
COVID-19 Research
Assessing Vaccination and Natural Immunity: New study which finds:
Vaccination and Omicron infection = Immunity to Omicron, and the rest of variants.
Unvaccinated and Omicron infection = Immunity to Omicron but not much else.
State
California:
New to Los Angeles Unified School District, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said his priorities include early-childhood education, access to technology, reducing class sizes and addressing learning loss.
Health Secretary Dr. Ghaly says the state will continue to require masks in health care settings, long-term health care settings, schools, jails and prisons.
Idaho: Parents could soon get grants for children’s learning loss.
"The bill, which the Senate passed in a 34-1 vote, would establish the $50 million “Empowering Parents Grants” program to provide grants of up to $1,000 per student or $3,000 per family."
Illinois: Chicago Public Schools parents rally for Covid-19 safety mitigations.
Maryland:
Maryland State Board of Education responds to Gov Larry Hogan's request to lift school mask orders, saying it won't happen till vaccination levels reach 80% and Covid transmission levels drop.
“We believe with the metrics as they are right now, that we can safely move to parental choice mask optional for students starting Monday,” Dr. Donna Hargens, the superintendent of Catholic Schools, said.
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) announced it will launch a new grant initiative with more than $150 million in federal funds to overcome the learning loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerate student learning to narrow opportunity and achievement gaps and provide more targeted support for historically underserved students and their communities.
Michigan: Via Chalkbeat, "Michigan teachers spent less time giving reading lessons during the pandemic. During the same period, half of all third graders in the state were identified at some point by their teachers as needing extra help with reading."
Missouri: The state teachers union argued that delaying standardized testing will give teachers more time to catch students up before the end of the school year.
Nebraska: From remote learning to the "new" normal, educators learn the benefits of technology.
New York: The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a small group of New York City school teachers who were hoping to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Tennessee: Nicole Corey, Jennifer Claxton, Amy Pate and Morgan Barth of Let Nashville Parents Choose, "Why it's time to end COVID restrictions in Nashville public schools."
Economic Recovery
Confederate Street Names Bring Lower Home Prices: A study of US street names found that homes on streets named after Confederate leaders sell for 3% less on average than homes nearby. The study focused on ~6k sales across 1.4k+ streets from 2001 to 2020.
A Rising Death Toll: Via the NYT: Overdoses are increasing at a troubling rate.
"Drug overdoses now kill more than 100,000 Americans a year — more than vehicle crash and gun deaths combined."
"And over the past two years, it has worsened: Annual overdose deaths spiked 50 percent as fentanyl spread in illegal markets, more people turned to drugs during the pandemic, and treatment facilities and other services shut down."
Resources
700 Days Since Lockdown: Educators, students, parents and researchers reflect on pandemic’s "seismic interruption to education." Great piece by The 74.
The Rams' Andrew Whitworth is the Walter Payton Man of the Year: He shared an amazing experience with a young man that he mentored.
"On that Tuesday off day when I'd rather be at home... I made an investment in him and I didn't even know it."
"That's a great lesson for all of us. None of us know when the moment is gonna present itself.”
"The key is to always be available when it does."
A great background video on Whit’s work. “Where you at?”
Caps Fan: First stolen, then victory.