Top Three
Updated Booster Recommendations:
"The FDA said the new boosters - a fourth round of shots for most vaccine recipients - of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc vaccines are to be administered at least four months after the previous dose. They are intended to offer more protection against severe disease and hospitalization." (FDA Statement / Pfizer Statement)
"The agency also authorized a second booster for individuals 12 and older with certain immune deficiencies after the same interval."
"The CDC updated its recommendation to allow certain immunocompromised individuals and people over the age of 50 to receive an additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines." (CDC statement)
"There may be a need for people to get an additional booster in the fall along with a more general booster campaign, if that takes place, because we may need to shift over to a different variant coverage," said top FDA official Dr. Peter Marks"
School-Based Health Centers: Columbus City Schools to build new health care centers with partnership.
"School-based healthcare centers mean less time out of the classroom for many students, which directly aligns with our district's strategic priority of Whole-Child Focus that allows the students to reach their full potential," said Columbus Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon in a news release."
"The health center at Columbus North International will be paid for with a $1.3 million grant from PrimaryOne, and will provide primary care, dental, behavioral health, substance use disorder services, vision and hearing, and general health screenings. The services will not only be for students and staff, but for families and other community members around the campus."
COVID Supplemental: "America Is Running Out of Money to Fight Covid," writes Vivek H. Murthy and David A. Kessler
"Last week, we were forced to cut our shipments of lifesaving monoclonal antibodies to states by 35 percent — and we anticipate running out of monoclonal antibodies later this spring. We will not be able to continue making home tests available, and the critical surveillance efforts that help us anticipate new waves and variants will be compromised."
"When it comes to funding, timing matters. Manufacturers cannot turn the production of vaccines, treatments and tests on and off like a switch. Purchases have to be made months in advance if we want supplies to be available when we need them."
More via KFF, "Implications of the Lapse in Federal COVID-19 Funding on Access to COVID-19 Testing, Treatment, and Vaccines"
Federal
Covid Creeps Closer to Biden as Restrictions Fall: Via the Washington Post:
“Over the last two weeks, the coronavirus has crept ever closer to Biden, disrupting White House operations just as the country and the administration have been relaxing strict safeguards against covid-19. The cluster of cases highlights the continued threat posed by the virus, complicating White House efforts to signal that the country has turned the corner on the pandemic.”
“After years of modeling strict precautions, including campaigning for months from his basement in Wilmington, Del., before vaccines were available, Biden is now at a higher risk of being infected, experts say, with all the personal and political consequences that would entail — though as with other vaccinated people, an infection could be less severe.”
"The 79-year-old Biden’s vaccination status could help the president avoid serious infection, he said. “But even that is in doubt, given his age and obvious frailty,” Gostin added. “I would be far more worried about the president’s health than it appears from recent White House protocols.”
COVID-19 Research
BA.2:
Helpful comparison (and post) from Eric Topol:
Long Covid: Via Stat, ‘A slow-moving glacier’: NIH’s sluggish and often opaque efforts to study long Covid draw patient, expert ire"
The Path Forward: A Post-OmicronStrategy for the Global COVID-19 Response via the Covid Collaborative
State
Arizona: Elementary school in Tempe tears down classroom walls, reimagines how learning happens.
"Students are split up into learning spaces throughout the day to cover various subjects, including math, science and English. The spaces are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and colorful furniture with wheels that are designed for flexibility and collaboration."
"Each learning studio has a team of teachers and assistants. It includes certified teachers, instructional assistants and college students studying to become teachers. The team is led by a teacher executive designer, known as the TED."
Arkansas: Social-emotional learning program to address COVID impacts.
Idaho: Governor Little vetoed the Coronavirus Pause Act, a bill that would have banned businesses from requiring a COVID vaccination for employment and service.
Indiana: How Indianapolis is innovating around the transportation crisis, via The 74.
Massachusetts: Boston doctors said while school mask mandates could be implemented again on a local level, they remain hopeful we won't have to return to statewide guidance.
Minnesota: Minneapolis Public Schools students will return to class Tuesday, March 29, three weeks after teachers and educational assistants went on strike. A contract approved over the weekend by members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers ends the city’s first teacher strike in half a century.
Michigan: The statewide four-year graduation rate was 80.4% for the Class of 2021, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the previous year.
New Hampshire: Governor seeks federal extension of COVID-19 school monitoring.
"In a letter to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, Sununu urges the agency to extend the timeline for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Reopening Schools program to July 2023 "in order to keep New Hampshire schools open and safe." The program is set to expire in July."
Texas: Gov. Abbott may "create a "hold harmless" in Texas school finance to cover the cost of widespread student absences during COVID pandemic for the '21-'22 school year"
International
Hong Kong:
Up to 2,000 children under age 10 separated from parents in Hong Kong hospitals over past 6 weeks after catching Covid-19
"No more child separations in Hong Kong hospitals as parents allowed on wards"
Economic Recovery
Inversion of Key U.S. Yield Curve Slice is A Recession Alarm: "A closely monitored section of the U.S. Treasury yield curve inverted on Tuesday for the first time since September 2019, a reflection of market concerns that the Federal Reserve could tip the economy into recession as it battles soaring inflation."
Record Job Openings: There are now a record 5 million more job openings than unemployed people in the U.S.
I Keep Hoping Larry Summers Is Wrong. What If He's Not? Ezra Klein interview with Larry Summers (Podcast / Transcript)
Inflation: Highest precent of Americans citing Inflation as "the most important problem facing the U.S." since 1985.
The Economy Forward Framework: Tulsa Innovation Labs, Aspen Institute, and Heartland Forward released new blueprint for inclusive economic growth.
Why Women Outearn Men, in Some Cities: Via Axios.
"Women under 30 outearned men in 22 cities across the country, including New York and Washington, D.C., a Pew Research analysis of Census data through 2019 finds"
More via the Washington Post.
Congress’ Competitiveness Legislation Should Address Immigration: My new blog post on immigration and the Bipartisan Innovation Act.
Resources
From Understanding Data to Collaboration, Communication and Confidence, How Schools Can Prepare Students for a 21st Century World: Jean-Claude Brizard, Micahel Campbell, and Cigdem Ertem in The 74.
Local COVID-19 Relief Spending Plans Reinforce Need for Data Transparency: Via DQC.
Remote Learning in the Ukraine: Thousands of Ukrainian children join virtual classes as Kyiv launches online learning amid Russian bombardment.
Ruff Remote Learning: Online dog training.
How To Throw A Racket: How to throw a racket/hit a ball in anger without getting in trouble, via Andy Roddick.