Top Three
Parents Await Vaccine News for Young Kids as Lines of Defense Disappear: Via Axios:
"Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said this week said his company aimed to get vaccines out by June if regulators agree."
"Pfizer was initially planning to submit data based on two doses for the youngest kids. But amid Omicron the efficacy of two doses in kids under 5 turned out to be 30% to 40%."
Masks:
DOJ appeals travel mask mandate ruling after CDC says it "remains necessary"
CDC Statement: "It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health."
Related: "A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 59% of voters support the CDC’s original extension of the federal travel mask mandate. Only 32% oppose the extension."
Related: SARS-CoV-2 Transmission on Planes: Good review of the research and risks by Katelyn Jetelina.
School Closures and Effective In-Person Learning during COVID-19: When, Where, and for Whom: IZA paper and summary.
"We match cell phone data to administrative school records and combine it with information on school learning modes to study effective in-person learning (EIPL) in the U.S. during the pandemic."
"We find large differences in EIPL for the 2020-21 school year. Public schools averaged less EIPL than private schools. Schools in more affluent localities and schools with a larger share of non-white students provided lower EIPL. Higher school spending and federal emergency funding is associated with lower EIPL."
"These results are explained in large part by regional differences, reflecting political preferences, vaccination rates, teacher unionization rates, and local labor conditions.”
Federal
Midterms: Via the Cook Political Report:
“This week, we’re moving eight Democratic-held seats into more competitive categories. With these changes, there are 27 Democratic seats in Toss Up or worse, and that list is certain to grow longer when Florida and New Hampshire finalize their lines.”
“By contrast, there are only 12 GOP-held seats in Toss Up or worse — all of which are due to redistricting, not atmospheric factors. Republicans need to net just five seats to regain the House.”
“No Democrat in a single-digit Biden (or Trump-won) district is secure, and even some seats Biden carried by double-digit margins in 2020 could come into play this fall.”
NTIA: Video from the technical assistance webinar for the IIJA Broadband Programs.
Biden Considers Delaying Title 42 Repeal: Via Axios:
“President Biden’s inner circle has been discussing delaying the repeal of Title 42 border restrictions, now set to end May 23."
“The White House is looking for ways to buy time to avoid a massive influx of migrants that would add to already-historic border numbers. That already endangers Democratic incumbents in states that could decide the Senate majority in November.”
“Biden officials recognize they’re in a jam: moderate Democrats are pounding on them to delay the repeal but doing so would inflame the party’s progressive base.”
Covid-19 Research
Omicron: Has splintered into fast-spreading lineages, highlighting coronavirus’s evolution, reports Stat.
"Case in point: Updated data released Tuesday showed that a burgeoning form of Omicron, called BA.2.12.1 — itself a sublineage of the BA.2 branch of Omicron — now accounts for nearly one in five infections in the United States."
"Countervailing factors like the warmer weather and huge levels of population immunity are acting as a drag on transmission. Because of all the layers of protection people have — both from vaccinations and past infections — new cases are far less likely to result in severe outcomes."
Vaccine With Confidence Learning Lab: The National Governors Association (NGA) is working with four states – Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan and North Dakota - on a learning lab aimed to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake using behavioral insights. After many months of successful vaccination efforts, several states are now seeing stagnant vaccination rates and growing gaps between people who have received their eligible doses. Messaging and approaches must address barriers to access and increase education on immunization benefits.
Wearables Can Track COVID Symptoms: According to a new study (more in Axios).
"The study, led by University of Michigan researchers, relied on data from more than 2,000 Fitbits given out to University of Michigan undergrads and thousands more medical interns around the U.S."
"They specifically looked at heart rate, which most wearable trackers measure, and separated it into six different signals that could indicate physiological changes in the wearer, said researcher Daniel Forger, a professor of mathematics at Michigan."
"After identifying those who were diagnosed with COVID, they identified changes in the individuals' heart rate data to develop algorithms around changes associated with COVID."
CDC Advisers Discuss Future of COVID-19 Booster Shots: Agenda. There were no votes, this was purely a discussion.
Stat's Helen Branswell live tweeted the meeting.
More via CIDRAP:
"Though all Americans age 50 and older are now eligible to get a second booster of COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said some groups may benefit more than others from the shot."
"The immunocompromised, those who live with the immunocompromised, and those at great risk for severe COVID-19, should probably consider getting a fourth dose of mRNA vaccine—a second booster—as soon as possible. But people who have had COVID-19 within the last 3 months and older—but healthy—adults who want to wait until the fall to get a booster are likely okay to take a wait-and-see approach."
"ACIP members voiced concerns about booster fatigue, and creating the impression that a vaccination program that required large swathes of the population to get boosted every 4 to 6 months would be viewed as unsuccessful. They also emphases that the primary series of vaccines, the first two doses, remained the most important in terms of preventing deaths."
Some interesting slides from the presentations:
COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness during Omicron (deck) including some slides suggesting that vaccine effectiveness for mRNA vaccines was better after three doses than two.
Related via the Washington Post: "Boost now? Boost later? Tricky calculation for a 4th coronavirus shot."
State
Connecticut: Fifty-four high schools have now participated in the state’s Voice4Change initiative, encouraging high school students to submit and vote on proposals for how their schools should use $1.5 million in federal COVID relief funds.
Idaho: Students in rural Idaho high schools will soon be able to use distance learning technology to access telehealth services.
Maryland: 5 best practices Baltimore schools learned from a 2020 ransomware attack.
New York: 1 in every 200 NYC children have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID.
Texas: 4-day school week picks up steam in rural Texas districts.
"Tim Bartram, superintendent of Hull-Daisetta Independent School District in Texas, said the growing movement of the four-day school week will now be implemented in his district starting next school year, too. Hull-Daisetta ISD’s board voted to make the change in March, following suit after three other surrounding districts did the same, Bartram said."
"The district also sent out a survey to parents and staff prior to the vote about shortening the school week. In that survey, 66% of parents voted in favor of a four-day week, while about 98% of staff said the same, he said."
Utah: Students got a chance to try robotic surgery — here’s how they surprised the pros.
"The da Vinci XI robotic-assisted surgical systems, which are used for surgeries in American Fork Hospital, include a training game that keeps track of a user’s score."
"The sales representatives consistently score in the mid-90s on the game, but several Lone Peak students scored a 99 out of 100 the first time they touched the equipment."
Wisconsin: MPS reinstates mask requirement after one school day of optional policy.
International
Taiwan: Says talks to buy Pfizer-BioNTech child vaccine held up over Chinese sales rights.
Economic Recovery
Using Data To Advance Digital Skills: A State Playbook by NGA.
Exploring Racial and Gender Differences in ISA Contract Terms and Repayment Pattern: JFF report.
"Using a proprietary data set of ISA contract holder records, this report analyzes differences in contract terms and repayment patterns across demographic groups, finding no consistent and significant favorability toward one racial/ethnic or gender group over another."
Resources
Unlocking Innovation in Schools: Via Transcend's David Nitkin.
Pods in Action: Black Mothers Forum via CRPE.
Celebrating 50 Years of Giant Pandas: At the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
A Boy Loves The Underdog: Robbie seeks out the least adoptable dog of the lot.
"When Robbie goes to the animal shelter, he gravitates toward the seemingly oldest of the bunch."
"Robbie, who was adopted out of foster care, says “he knows how it feels to not be loved or cared for...and I don't want any animal of mine to feel that way."