Top Three
Signs of a Spring Wave?
"Coronavirus cases are once again surging in several European countries, potentially signaling that the U.S. will soon experience another spike as well."
“More than a third of the CDC’s wastewater sample sites across the U.S. showed rising Covid-19 trends in the period ending March 1 to March 10, though reported cases have stayed near a recent low.”
"Some have hypothesized waning of vaccination protection. However, cases in the U.K., for example, are increasing across each age group. Given that vaccines were rolled out by age, if vaccines were waning, we would only see this uptick among those who were vaccinated first."
"BA.2’s impact on hospital systems will depend on who Omicron reached in the first wave. If the unvaccinated and older non-boosted were reached during this past Omicron wave, our hospitals may be okay. But if they weren’t, then the hospital picture will be different. Our booster rate in the U.S. is suboptimal, especially when we compare to other European countries. Does this mean that we will look like Hong Kong? Definitely not. But, hospitalizations may be higher than what we’re seeing in the U.K."
What’s Known About the BA.2 Variant, via the NYT.
Andy Slavitt thread assessing the risks.
Which Coronavirus Vaccine Will Work in the Youngest Children?: NYT.
"Moderna is going head-to-head with Pfizer-BioNTech for the opportunity to vaccinate this group, hoping it has found what some scientists are calling the “Goldilocks” dose: strong enough to offer lasting protection, but not so strong that it causes widespread worrisome side effects, such as high fevers."
"Moderna has opted for a regimen of two doses at a quarter the strength of its adult dose for children under 6. Pfizer is expected to seek authorization next month for a three-shot regimen for children under 5, with doses one-tenth as strong as those for people aged 12 and up."
"Dr. Ofer Levy, a pediatric expert at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s independent vaccine advisory committee, said he thought Pfizer might have selected too low a dose for 5- to 11-year-olds “in the understandable priority to maximize safety."
"Moderna is proposing substantially higher dosing than Pfizer in all three pediatric age groups: 100 micrograms, the full adult dose, for those ages 12 to 17; 50 micrograms in children 6 to 11, and 25 micrograms in those under 6. Regulators are considered likely to review the firm’s data for all three age groups simultaneously."
These Schools Did Less to Contain Covid. Their Students Flourished: Good long piece via the Washington Post.
"While most of the nation kept students at home for part or all of the last academic year, these schools in the suburbs of Colorado Springs, like thousands of others around the country, opened with the overwhelming majority of students in their seats. Masks were optional in elementary school. Although middle- and high-schoolers began with hybrid learning, in November, high school-aged students with significant special education needs were back in-person five days a week."
"Yet thousands of school districts — typically small ones in conservative-leaning counties — reacted to the pandemic like Lewis Palmer District 38 did. Officials in this largely White and affluent school district of 6,600 students near the U.S. Air Force Academy argue they took the right approach to reopening schools. No child was hospitalized with the virus; two school system employees were admitted, though contact tracers did not determine where they contracted the virus, school officials said."
Federal
COVID Supplemental:
“The Biden administration says that it might have to scrap critical Covid-19 programs unless Congress moves to approve funding left out of the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package,” according to the WSJ.
“Democratic leaders now plan to hold a stand-alone vote in the House this coming week on $15.6 billion in Covid-19 aid, without paying for it by clawing back state funds. Such an approach would likely hit a wall in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats would need at least 10 Republican votes to advance the proposal.”
Punchbowl News: “The White House hasn’t done anything to sell this legislation to Congress. This is a complaint you’ll hear from House and Senate Democrats… The White House faces enormous challenges on numerous fronts, especially with the growing military and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. But this issue isn’t going to get resolved unless there’s a high-level push from the administration, and that hasn’t happened yet.”
Former President Obama: Tested positive for the coronavirus.
COVID-19 Research
4th Dose May Be Needed: Pfizer CEO:
"Many variants are coming, and Omicron was the first one that was able to evade -- in a skillful way -- the immune protection that we're giving," Bourla told CBS' "Face the Nation."
"The protection we are getting from the third (dose) it is good enough -- actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths," Bourla said."
"But protection after three doses is "not that good against infections" and "doesn't last very long" when faced with a variant like Omicron"
For Kids With COVID-19, Everyday Life Can Be A Struggle: Via the AP.
Getting Kids to Wear Masks in Class Was Tough, Removing Them Can Be Just as Difficult: Via WSJ.
"In Rocklin more than 100 teachers stayed home Feb. 28, the first day that relaxed mask rules went into effect locally, ahead of the state guidelines. Shelley Durham, the parent of two teenagers in local schools, was dismayed by an assignment given to her son that asked students if they preferred to be seated away from those without masks."
Ten Lessons From the First Two Years of COVID-19: Via McKinsey
Infectious diseases are a whole-of-society issue.
The vaccine development paradigm has been transformed for emergencies and, potentially, for more.
Conversely, weaknesses in vaccine manufacturing and equitable distribution will require systemic change.
Trust is one of the most delicate but critical requirements for an effective pandemic response.
Agility and speed will be the new basis for differentiation.
Government policy matters—but individual behavior sometimes matters more.
Schools are the true fulcrum for the functioning of society.
Work will never be the same.
Economic stimulus works, but only in concert with strong public-health measures.
Whether we experience these problems again will depend on the investments and institutions we establish now.
State
Alabama: "A group of Alabama educators and teacher preparation program officials Thursday recommended suspending the requirement for teachers to pass the Praxis content knowledge test in order to increase the available pool of K-12 teachers statewide."
Connecticut: Kate Dias, "Now is the time to improve air quality in schools."
New Mexico: Then & Now - Albuquerque Public Schools. Video documentary of the last two years.
"When we look back on the past two years, we recall feelings of frustration, loneliness, and fear. But don’t forget the triumphs, too. It turns out some good can come from a pandemic. We got better at communicating with families and more conscientious of students’ social and emotional needs. We became more innovative, collaborative, flexible, and focused."
Ohio: Pandemic isolation harmed kids' social skills. How one Cincinnati provider is helping.
Utah: ASU Prep Digital forms a partnership with Utah schools.
International
China:
Cases in China are at the highest since the 2020 Wuhan wave.
More symptomatic COVID cases have been reported so far this year than it recorded in all of 2021.
Sustained outbreaks in two-thirds of the country’s provinces are proving the toughest test yet of China’s zero-tolerance coronavirus policy.
Shanghai closes schools due to fresh COVID-19 outbreak
Foxconn, which assembles Apple’s iPhones, suspends production at factories in Shenzhen, China, because of a lockdown.
Hong Kong:
Katelyn Jetelina: "They don’t just have a rise in cases, they also are breaking records for deaths, losing 35 per 1 million people to COVID19. As a comparison, the U.S. was losing 18 per 1 million people at the height of our COVID19 deaths. The amount of death Hong Kong is experiencing is unfathomable."
John Burn-Murdoch, "I’m not sure people appreciate quite how bad the Covid situation is in Hong Kong, nor what might be around the corner." Read the rest of the thread exploring the low vaccination rates and the low-effectiveness of China’s non-mRNA Sinovac vaccine with Omicron.
Resources
The Great Uncoupling: How Digital Learning Will Change Education: Via the Christensen Institute.
Dr. Adam Ozimek: Joins EIG as Chief Economist. Big get for EIG!
Transforming Education: Vision Is One Thing, But How Do We Get There?: Via CZI's Brooke Stafford Brizard
What Happened to the K-12 Education Labor Market During COVID? The Acute Need for Better Data Systems: Ed Working paper.
The Post Post-Cold War World: The Russia-Ukraine War & Its Consequences: New deck from Bruce Mehlman.
Welcome: Ukrainian refugee kids arrive in Italy, and start at local schools. On their first day they enter nervously. Here's what happened next.
A Baby Whale: Checks out a diver (video)