Top Three
COVID Vaccines Need to be Evolving Much Faster: By Eric Topol:
"For perspective, Omicron’s BA.1 was about 50% more infectious than Delta, the variant it replaced. At the time, it was hard to conceive of a version of the virus that could be more contagious. But BA.2, which out-competed it here in the U.S., is 30% more transmissible than BA.1. And BA.2.12.1, now overtaking BA.2, is another 25% more infectious than BA.2. Accordingly, in recent months since Omicron was first recognized in the United States in late November, we’ve gone from a hyper-transmissible virus strain to two more that take that problem to another level."
"To make matters worse, the Omicron-specific vaccines that are in clinical testing by multiple vaccine manufacturers, such as Moderna and Pfizer, use the BA.1 spike and will most likely not be adequately protective against BA.2.12.1 infections or other new Omicron family variants."
"Although existing vaccines are not particularly helpful at preventing infections with or transmission of the new BA.2 variants, they do still work, especially with boosters, to protect against hospitalizations and deaths."
"It is unlikely these major outcomes of the BA.2.12.1 variant will reach the profound levels of the original Omicron wave here, because there is certainly some cross-immunity from prior exposure to BA.1. So we need to be gearing up for what’s likely to come next: further Omicron evolution and a new variant that has little to do with Omicron."
"There is also an overwhelmingly high risk of a completely new variant for multiple reasons. The millions of immunocompromised people, any one of whom could have accelerated evolution of the virus within them and subsequently transmitted the virus. The huge populations around the world where vaccines have made negligible inroads. Abundant animal reservoirs, with spillover to humans already documented. The higher incidence of coinfections in people, such as Omicron and Delta forming “Deltacron” — lineages that fortunately, to date, have not taken root."
"Governments around the world need to make it a priority to support development of variant-proof vaccines, such as against the entire sarbecovirus family and all anticipated variants. The U.S. pushed for the first wave of vaccines with an initiative called Operation Warp Speed, and that push should continue. In the months ahead, our current vaccines may offer diminished protection against hospitalization and death."
Teens, High School Parents, and Their Perspectives on the Pandemic: Via EdChoice. Report / Teens Crosstabs / High School Parents Crosstabs
High school parents and teens express very different outlooks about the future. Parents are more optimistic about their child’s future, while teens are more likely to feel neutral, potentially indicating either uncertainty or indifference. High school parents are more likely to believe that their child is ready for life after high school than teens feel they are – especially those planning on attending college.
Post-pandemic, fewer teens appear to be planning to attend a four-year college after high school. About half of teens still plan on attending college after high school, despite the pandemic’s influence. However, many teens stated teens they are a little less inclined to do so now compared to their pre-pandemic plans. One out of five high school parents said their child’s post-high school plans have changed during the pandemic.
More than half of America’s teens say they would like to learn at home at least one day per week.
Majorities of high school parents and teens believe their school is doing a good job promoting racial equality, fairness, respect, challenge, and providing supportive communications.
Not Good for Learning: Via the NYT, "New research is showing the high costs of long school closures in some communities."
"A team of researchers at Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research have used the MAP’s results to study learning during a two-year period starting in the fall of 2019, before the pandemic began."
"On average, students who attended in-person school for nearly all of 2020-21 lost about 20 percent worth of a typical school year’s math learning during the study’s two-year window... But students who stayed home for most of 2020-21 fared much worse. On average, they lost the equivalent of about 50 percent of a typical school year’s math learning during the study’s two-year window."
"The findings are consistent with other studies. “It’s pretty clear that remote school was not good for learning,” said Emily Oster, a Brown University economist and the co-author of another such study."
Federal
SCOTUS: How the leak might have happened, via SCOTUS Blog which suggests there may have been three leaks.
Covid-19 Research
Nearly 15 Million Have Died During Pandemic: The WHO estimates that there have been 14.9 million “excess deaths” associated directly or indirectly with the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide.
“There were 5.4 million Covid-19 deaths reported to WHO during that timeframe, resulting in an excess mortality estimate of 9.5 million more deaths than what was reported.”
Pediatric Hepatitis Outbreak: Good overview by Emily Oster.
State
California: Los Angeles school officials announced a $50-million effort to provide adequate internet to all families in the nation’s second-largest school system — the latest try at closing a persistent digital divide that has limited learning for students whose families can’t afford to pay for high-speed Wi-Fi access.
Georgia: Gov. Kemp signs bill to ban COVID-19 ‘vaccine passports’
Hawaii: Hawaii public schools criticized for slow spending of COVID-19 aid.
Illinois:
Chicago Public School students debut films documenting pandemic years. You can watch the films here.
COVID-19 risk could jump from “low” to “medium” levels as early as Friday, following the raised risk levels in suburban Cook County last week.
"But the increased risk level is not enough to trigger any new citywide mask mandates, she said. Last month, she had suggested a medium level designation could require mask mandates at Chicago Public Schools, but on Tuesday, said masks would be “strongly recommended” in schools, as well as around the city."
Chicago's Virtual Academy will return, but little is known after its first year
Michigan: The Detroit school district is delaying a decision to lift its mask mandate in the face of strong opposition from teachers union members and a potential legal challenge.
International
China:
“China’s fight against Covid reached new extremes after officials in the northern Hebei province were shown sealing residents’ doors with wires and bolts to prevent them from going outside,” via the Telegraph.
“Covid workers used wires to barricade doors and installed iron bolts on the floors in order to prevent residents from leaving their homes… The measures applied to those who refused to voluntarily hand over their apartment keys so they could be locked in from the outside.”
The South China Morning Post has video of iron bolts being installed on the outside of apartment doors.
“European business leaders in China have warned that Beijing’s zero-Covid policy is threatening foreign investment, as the Chinese services sector plunged to its weakest level of activity in over two years because of strict lockdown measures,” the Financial Times reports.
Resources
The Pandemic Was Hard on Office Suck-ups: Now they’re back and ready to schmooze.
"In a just world, the shift to remote work over the past two years would reward productivity and expose the slackers. But as corporations have been returning to business as usual, guess who can’t wait to get back to the office? Suck-ups, the co-workers we love to hate."
"The best suck-ups are both selective and strategic, West adds: They’ll study one or two bosses, praising an offhand comment they made weeks ago, creating the impression that they are very detail-oriented and therefore very good at their job. Suck-ups are also very skilled at attaching themselves to team projects or launching initiatives or task forces, with lots of meetings but little real work."
"The pandemic took away most of the tools in the suck-up bag of tricks — but not all was lost. Instead, they transferred their efforts to Zoom and other telework platforms."
Pandemic Parenting Burnout: Study / Press Release / Today Show segment.
68% of females reported burnout verses 42% of males.
77% of parents who had a history of personal anxiety reported burnout.
72% of parents who were concerned that their child could have an undiagnosed mental health condition reported burnout, compared to 28% of parents who did not report burnout.
Nothing Beats: A Thursday mud bath.