Top Three
Washington Is Again on Edge Over Coronavirus Cases
“A flurry of high-profile coronavirus cases in the nation’s capital — including in people who have been around President Biden — has raised new questions about the trajectory of the two-year-old pandemic, even as the White House has signaled confidence in the country’s ability to resume normal activities,” via the NYT.
“In recent days, officials from the White House Covid-19 task force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have met to game out how the administration will respond if cases begin to rise drastically. The group has discussed the possibility of recommending communities reinstitute mask mandates indoors and how to ensure hospitals across the country are prepared for a potential spike in patients seeking care. Officials have also debated whether and when to recommend a fourth Covid-19 shot.” Politico reports.
Ivermectin Didn’t Reduce Covid-19 Hospitalizations in Largest Trial to Date: WSJ article.
"The latest trial, of nearly 1,400 Covid-19 patients at risk of severe disease, is the largest to show that those who received ivermectin as a treatment didn’t fare better than those who received a placebo."
"The researchers prescribed half of the patients a course of ivermectin pills for three days. The other half received a placebo."
"They tracked whether the patients were hospitalized within 28 days. The researchers also looked at whether patients on ivermectin cleared the virus from their bodies faster than those who received a placebo, whether their symptoms resolved sooner, whether they were in the hospital or on ventilators for less time and whether there was any difference in the death rates for the two groups."
"To make sure they were being thorough, the researchers analyzed the data in three different ways. They looked at data from all patients; then analyzed data from patients who received ivermectin or a placebo 24 hours before they were hospitalized; and in a third review, looked at data from patients who said they had adhered strictly to their dosing schedule."
"In each scenario, they found ivermectin didn’t improve patient outcomes."
America Is Zooming Through the Pandemic Panic-Neglect Cycle: Ed Yong in The Atlantic.
"All epidemics trigger the same dispiriting cycle. First, panic: As new pathogens emerge, governments throw money, resources, and attention at the threat. Then, neglect: Once the danger dwindles, budgets shrink and memories fade. The world ends up where it started, forced to confront each new disease unprepared and therefore primed for panic. This Sisphyean sequence occurred in the United States after HIV, anthrax, SARS, Ebola, and Zika. It occurred in Republican administrations and Democratic ones."
"Even so, it’s not meant to happen this quickly. When I first wrote about the panic-neglect cycle five years ago, I assumed that it would operate on a timescale of years, and that neglect would set in only after the crisis was over. The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed both assumptions. Before every surge has ended, pundits have incorrectly predicted that the current wave would be the last, or claimed that lifesaving measures were never actually necessary. Time and again, neglect has set in within mere months, often before the panic part has been over."
"This week, Congress nixed $15 billion in coronavirus funding from a $1.5 trillion spending bill, which President Joe Biden then signed on Tuesday. The decision is catastrophic, and as the White House has noted, its consequences will unfurl quickly."
"Next week, the government will have to cut shipments of monoclonal-antibody treatments by a third. In April, it will no longer be able to reimburse health-care providers for testing, vaccinating, or treating millions of uninsured Americans, who are disproportionately likely to be unvaccinated and infected. Come June, it won’t be able to support domestic testing manufacturers. It can’t buy extra doses of antiviral pills or infection-preventing treatments that immunocompromised people are banking on but were already struggling to get."
"To be clear, these facets of the pandemic response were already insufficient. The U.S. has never tested sufficiently, never vaccinated enough people, never made enough treatments accessible to its most vulnerable, and never adequately worked to flatten global vaccine inequities. These measures needed to be strengthened, not weakened even further."
"The virus is invisible. The ruin it inflicts is hidden from public view. The pandemic has gone on for two long years, turning tragedy into routine and breeding fatalism from failure. Older, disabled, poor, Black, or brown Americans, whose excess deaths were tolerated long before COVID, have borne the brunt of the pandemic, while privileged people have had the swiftest access to medical interventions—and have been quickest to declare the crisis over. A country that so readily forgets its dead is surely prone to also forgetting the lessons of the all-too-recent past, setting itself up for further failure in an all-too-imminent future."
Federal
COVID Supplemental: "The U.S. government needs to contract with coronavirus vaccine makers by the end of the month in order to have enough booster shots for most Americans this fall, but can't proceed until Congress approves more money, two senior Biden administration officials tell Axios."
COVID-19 Research
Moderna: Is seeking FDA authorization for a second booster dose of its coronavirus vaccine for all adults. Press release.
Studies Show Vaccines Protect Against Serious Omicron Illness: Via CIDRAP.
The first study examined how mRNA vaccines protected against the most severe outcomes, defined as ventilator treatment or death. Patients who received two or three doses had a 90% reduced risk for ventilator treatment or death from COVID-19. During the Omicron surge, those who had received a booster dose had a 94% reduced risk of the two severe outcomes.
"These findings reinforce the highly protective effects of up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination against severe illness and death among adults, including against current SARS-CoV-2 variants," the group wrote.
In the second study, another group examined weekly hospitalization rates during Delta and Omicron circulation, hoping to tease out any differences based on vaccination status or racial group. Their data were from the COVID-Net surveillance system, which includes 99 counties in 14 states. The investigators found that people who weren't vaccinated were 12 times more likely to be hospitalized than were vaccinated people who were boosted, and those who had only received their primary series were 3 times more likely to be hospitalized."
Britain Approves AstraZeneca's Preventative COVID Therapy: Reuters and MHRA press release.
"The therapy was found to cut the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77% in trials, with protection lasting for at least six months after a single dose, the MHRA said."
Canada Approves Moderna for 6-11 Yr Olds: Reuters.
AstraZeneca: Said they would consider not submitting its COVID-19 vaccine for approval in the United States if the regulatory process takes too long.
CDC's COVID Data Tracker: Show children ages 5–11 years who are unvaccinated are more likely than children who are vaccinated to be hospitalized with COVID.
Fauci on Signs of Another Wave: "Over the next few weeks, the U.S. should expect an increase in cases from the BA.2 variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News, but it may not lead to as severe a surge in hospitalizations or deaths."
Children Are Less Likely to Produce Antibodies Against COVID-19 Than Adults: According to a new study.
"Children are less likely to produce antibodies from a mild COVID-19 infection compared to adults who have similar symptoms and viral load.
On This Day: It was two years ago on this day that Tomas Pueyo wrote a blog post called “The Hammer And The Dance” describing the series of lockdowns and other measures that would be used to try and control waves of the pandemic.
"We Trust the COVID Vaccine": Heads of top medical groups say in ads targeting parents.
"The ads — a pair of 60-second spots titled "Oath" and "Trust" – feature pleas from Dr. Gerald Harmon, president of the American Medical Association; Dr. Moira Szilagyi, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association; and Dr. Ada Stewart, chair of the board of the American Academy of Family Physicians."
As Nurses Quit, States Seek to Train More: Via Pew.
State
DC: Literacy scores show widening achievement gap in D.C. during pandemic. Share of DC students hitting literacy proficiency benchmarks in 2019 vs 2021:
White 73% down to 70%
Black 44% down to 28%
Hispanic 42% down to 30%
Maine: The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the University of Southern Maine (USM) Department of Educational and School Psychology announced a new partnership to increase the number of school psychologists within the state and expand school psychology services for Maine’s students and schools.
New Jersey: "Through a partnership with the N.J. Department of Health (NJDOH), COVID-19 vaccines will be made available to eligible Paterson Public Schools students at 11 school sites on dates throughout April and May (and one date in early June). The NJDOH’s Rapid Mobile Response Team will provide the vaccines."
New York: Governor Hochul announced that more than 20 million COVID-19 over-the-counter tests will be distributed across the state - including schools - to bolster New York State's ongoing preparedness efforts.
Texas:
"An appellate court on Thursday sided with Texas school districts in their dispute with state officials over mask mandates."
VELA Education Fund and the Miles Foundation announced yesterday a $1 million opportunity for everyday entrepreneurs in the Dallas-Forth Worth region.
Resources
Mass Leadership Exits Hit State Legislatures: Amazing data point for those working on issue advocacy:
“Nearly a third of the top leaders in the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers will quit their posts this year, signaling a wave of turnover that will hand power to a new generation,” The Hill reports.
“At least 30 state House Speakers, Senate presidents and majority leaders have either resigned or said they will retire at the end of their current terms.”
Stunning James Webb Star Image Shows Telescope Is Exceeding Expectations: Not related to COVID or education, but this is amazing. NASA press release and video.
Cheerleaders Save The Day: After a ball got stuck on top of the backboard during Indiana's game against the Saint Mary’s Gaels in Portland, Oregon, Hoosiers cheerleader Nathan Paris hoisted teammate Cassidy Cerny 13 feet up into the air to retrieve it, saving the day and providing the tournament's first viral moment.
The Today Show interviews the two cheerleaders.