Top Three
Once Again, America Is In Denial About Signs of a Fresh Covid Wave: Eric Topol.
"The United Kingdom and Europe have provided five unmistakable warnings to America that a new surge was occurring. Within weeks, each time, the United States experienced a new wave, some not as severe (such as with the Alpha variant), some worse (Delta and Omicron variants)."
"At least 12 countries, geographically extending from Finland to Greece, are experiencing new increases in cases, some quite marked, such as Austria exceeding its pandemic peak, and Finland with an 85% increase from the prior week. Many of these countries are also showing a rise in hospital admissions."
"The root cause for the new wave is hard to pin down. Certainly, the BA.2 variant is known to have increased transmission, at least about 30% more than its sister lineage, Omicron BA.1. With the concomitant reduction of mitigation restrictions and waning immunity protection of vaccines, that transmission advantage will increase."
"This “BA.2 triad” of factors is thus hard to dissect, as they are clearly interdependent. Rather than focusing on what precisely is driving the new wave, the imperative is to drive some preventive action."
"Add to all this is what is happening in China, which has fully relied on a zero-Covid policy, resulting in very little natural immunity, and vaccines that have weak efficacy against Omicron. Now this country is facing major outbreaks in two of its most populous cities, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and undoubtedly the whole country will be affected. We learned in 2019 that what happens in China doesn’t stay in China."
Pfizer Vaccine Reduces the Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Children: New study and article:
"A single dose of the Pfizer vaccine reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection in children, new research has found. Data also showed a single dose made infection milder during the delta period as well as shorter in duration, benefits that were noticeably less pronounced during the period of omicron."
"Researchers found there was a significant and rapid reduction in infection risk after even a single dose of vaccine, reaching -80.4% and -53.7% at 14–30 days with delta and omicron variants respectively. This reduction in risk persisted, at -86.4% and -57.9% at 31–60 days, and -61.5% and -63.7% after 61–90 days."
Do Masks in School Affect Kids' Speech and Social Skills?: Via NPR.
"We tend to underestimate how flexible our mind and our brain is," says Marina Bedny, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies brain development in people who are blind."
"This sort of research suggests that when sighted children encounter masks in the classroom, their brains adapt quickly.
"We're seeing really similar amounts of talking, really similar amounts of vocabulary development, language growth, language development, with or without masks, says Lynn Perry, an associate professor in the psychology department at the University of Miami."
"Camarata thinks most children won't have any long-term effects from masks in classrooms. But he's concerned about some students with autism who have difficulty adapting to even small changes in their environment."
Federal
IES: 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study, Washington Post:
"New federal data show high school students are taking harder courses, though this new rigor is not translating into higher scores on standardized tests."
"Despite this, scores on national math and science tests stayed even or declined over the same span, according to findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) high school transcript study looking at the 2019 data, the latest available."
White House: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law webinar on broadband, Mar 24, 2022 at 4:00 PM
The Fed:
Fed Chair Powell just said the US labor market is "tight to an unhealthy level." "Take a look at today’s labor market: What you have is 1.7+ job openings for every unemployed person. That’s a very, very tight labor market. Tight to an unhealthy level, I would say"
Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead. WSJ with a good "what it means for you."
COVID-19 Research
Pfizer Asks FDA to Authorize Second Covid-19 Booster Dose for 65 Years and Older: Via WSJ. The FDA "is expected to make a decision in time for the Biden administration to begin a potential fall vaccine campaign." Pfizer press release.
Inside the High-Stakes Race to Test the Covid Tests: Via the NYT.
Novavax: Eyeing the COVID 'vaccine hesitant' and kids, unveils new education campaigns as Nuvaxovid nears US finish line: Really good website.
"People hesitant about vaccinations may not want an mRNA vaccine because it's new technology, without years of proven safety behind it. But they might use an older, “tried and tested” tech, as Novavax puts it."
State
Illinois: CTU: "Defending our rights against Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools"
Indiana: Monroe, Greene County K-12 schools help students access home internet.
Ohio: Only 3% of Ohio school districts require masks.
Resources
Many Schools Aren’t Made for Kids With Learning Differences. The Pandemic Amplified That.: Jessica Grose in the NYT.
State K-12 Education Trends For 2022: NGA looks at key education themes across Governors’ State of the State addresses in 2022.
Amid Pandemic Disruptions — And Despite Political Attacks — it’s Time to Focus on Children’s Social and Emotional Well-Being: Via The 74.
Responding at the Speed of Need: Two Years of U.S. Digital Response
Hacking: Nothing to do with COVID or education, but this video segment of Rachel Tobac hacking Jeffrey Katzenberg is fascinating and serves as a good reminder to update your OS and apps.
Daylight Savings Times:
The Senate unanimously and surprisingly passed Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) bill to lock the clocks," Politico reports.
Amazing backgrounder by the NYT with all of your questions answered.
President Zelenskyy: Addressed Congress this morning.
The video that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrated during his virtual address to the U.S. Congress earlier on March 16.
This Dog: Is living his best life.
He has better goggles than I do for skiing.