Top Three
Access, Hesitancy Loom Over COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout for Toddlers: Via Roll Call.
"The likelihood of [kids under 5] encountering that vaccine opportunity is going to be smaller," said Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Vice President and Director of Global Health and HIV Policy Jen Kates."
"Federal law bars pharmacies from vaccinating kids under 3, so many are opting not to carry the vaccine, which has a unique dosage, for kids under 5. CVS will offer the vaccines for kids under 5 at their 1,100 Minute Clinics locations, not its nearly 10,000 pharmacies."
"Approximately one-third of kids ages 5 through 11 were vaccinated at pharmacies, Kates said. But the CDC says in its COVID-19 vaccine guidance that pharmacies' ability to vaccinate kids under 5 may be limited, regardless of their intent, because of a 2005 federal law on emergency preparedness."
"The White House and the CDC both did not respond to requests for comment when asked what the administration is doing to incentivize pediatricians to participate in the vaccination effort."
"Even though vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11 have been available since November 2021, fewer than 30 percent of kids in that age group are fully vaccinated. Public health experts anticipate similar turnout among the younger age group, with an initial vaccine rush once the short is approved, followed by a plateau."
Many Districts Doing Less This Summer to Make Up for Lost Learning: CRPE via The 74.
"Among the 50 districts that publicly post budget documents detailing their American Rescue Plan spending, just 28 are directing federal relief money toward summer school this year, as of our review May 10."
"Among the 100 districts, about 70 are offering summer programs focused on credit recovery and social and emotional well-being. These counts are down from 2021, when 79 districts offered social and emotional support programs in summer, and 74 offered credit recovery programs."
"Ten fewer districts (35) than last year (45) will offer bridge programs to help students manage key emotional and academic transitions, such as elementary to middle school or middle to high school."
"Nearly seven in 10 districts have shared no information about how they are identifying students for summer programs this year "
Chicago Teachers Union Says COVID Safety Measures Should Remain Next Year: Via the Chicago Tribune:
"CTU intends to begin the fall with a new safety agreement that mirrors the one it forged with CPS in January after teachers voted to refuse in-person work. The district canceled classes for five days as the deal was negotiated."
"We believe that all the safety protocols in our safety agreement from January should continue,” CTU Deputy General Counsel Thad Goodchild told the Tribune. “The district has told us that it has no plans to change the safety protocols that are in place. We believe that the district needs to commit to that in writing, so that everyone can feel assured.”
"Chicago Board of Education member Elizabeth Todd-Breland floated the idea of a CPS student COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the board’s January meeting — but it hasn’t seemed to have taken root. Martinez expressed disappointment the issue isn’t being handled at the federal level."
"Some 54% of students 5 and older in district-managed schools and 45% of age-eligible students in CPS schools not managed by district are fully vaccinated, according to district data. CTU pushed for an 80% vaccination rate for eligible students last summer."
Related: "Officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a Tuesday statement the state has renewed an agreement with SHIELD Illinois “that offers every public school outside of Chicago the opportunity to use the University of Illinois System’s innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 testing platform at no cost for the 2022-23 school year.”
Federal
Bipartisan Innovation Act: Punchbowl reports the package is being narrowed in order to get it passed by August:
"Negotiators seem to be increasingly focused on billions of dollars in funding to boost chip manufacturing, the National Science Foundation and research security, sources told us. In other words, they are looking to maintain the guts of Endless Frontiers, the Senate version which passed last June. Plus, House negotiators want to add provisions dealing with bolstering supply chains, which they say the Senate bill was silent on."
"Labor and climate provisions, as well as high-profile trade language, several sources told us. The House’s trade provisions were tailored to help get it through that chamber and can’t pass the Senate."
Covid-19 Research
The Case for Vaccinating Kids Under 5: Nicole Basta and Rachel Widome in the NYT.
"Among the roughly 18 million children up to age 5 in the United States, many lives can be saved and other harms averted. Pfizer estimates that if children 6 months to 5 years receive three doses, vaccination can prevent 169,108 cases per million children vaccinated, 3,416 hospitalizations and 28 Covid-related deaths in the case of a wave similar to Omicron over six months."
"Pfizer’s three-dose vaccination series for children age 6 months to 4 years and Moderna’s two-dose vaccination series for children age 6 months to 5 years generated immunity at levels similar to the immune responses seen among young adults."
"That these vaccines met all benchmarks is especially encouraging considering that they were evaluated among the youngest age groups (who have less developed immune systems), using a lower dose (to minimize potential side effects) and at a time when Omicron (the most infectious variant yet identified) caused the majority of disease."
Four Big Questions About Covid-19 Vaccines for Babies and Toddlers: Via Vox:
"But “lower risk” is not the same thing as “no risk.” According to the CDC, 442 children under the age of 4 have died from Covid-19 through May 2022. More than 30,000 children in the US have been hospitalized, making Covid-19 more dangerous than influenza in little kids."
“As pediatricians, I think we just have to make it clear that, while it is true that children don’t typically suffer this disease severely, they can suffer it severely,” said Paul Offit, director of vaccine education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Covid is one of the top 10 killers of children.”
State
Florida: Is the only state to skip pre-ordering Covid-19 vaccines for kids.
"The Florida Department of Health, through a statement, said Wednesday that it did not place an order with the federal government for vaccine doses for kids five and under in part because it doesn’t advise all children get vaccinated. The deadline for placing a pre-order was Tuesday and 49 other states met the cutoff date."
“States do not need to be involved in the convoluted vaccine distribution process, especially when the federal government has a track record of developing inconsistent and unsustainable COVID-19 policies,” the DOH statement said. “It is also no surprise we chose not to participate in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when the Department does not recommend it for all children.”
Gov. DeSantis: "There is not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to get COVID jabs to infants, toddlers, and newborns," the Republican governor said in response to a question asked at a press conference in Miami on Everglades conservation. "That's not something that we think is appropriate and so that's not where we are going to be utilizing our resources."
Idaho: "Idaho schools are in the middle of a systemwide, unprecedented teacher hiring “crisis,” State Board of Education member Linda Clark said."
Illinois: "The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that it is supporting the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) effort to carry out a robust COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children from six months to four years old."
Maryland: Michael Petrilli in the Washington Post: "Hold Montgomery officials accountable for school closures."
"So why did Montgomery County officials make the decisions they did? The most generous answer is that they were erring on the side of caution — though in hindsight, it turns out that opening schools did little to increase hospitalizations or deaths, especially in areas with low community spread."
"The more cynical explanation is that children don’t vote but members of interest groups do. Simply put, the powerful Montgomery County Education Association did not want schools to open, because it did not want its members working in open schools. So County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and his administration kept schools closed even as other districts in the state and around the country found safe ways to open their schools — and even as the county’s bars and restaurants came back to life."
"For a county that claims to value education above all other priorities, this is an unsettling development. It’s time to ask Elrich and other officials running for reelection if they regret the decision to keep schools closed during the fall and winter of 2020. If they had to do it over, would they do it differently? What would they say to the young people who missed out on their senior year of high school, or who lost months of learning, or who experienced anxiety or depression because of day after day needlessly spent quarantining at home?"
New York: Rochester Public Schools pilot program to help teachers connect with their students.
"Rochester Public Schools recently was one of just two school districts nationwide to pilot a program meant to help foster relationships between teachers and students. The program, called "Along," is associated with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative."
"Essentially, the program allows teachers to send out prompts to their students, and for students to reply to those prompts. They can reply through video, audio or text options."
"We're even looking at ideas of how teachers can get to know their students even before the first day of school," Ruffin said. "So once they get their roster, they can start sending questions out and start building that relationship with students. So on the first day, they already know you as a person ... you already know some things about them."
"As part of the pilot program, the district surveyed the students to gauge its effectiveness. When asked to respond to the statement "Along has helped my teacher get to know me," 34.29% of students said they "strongly agree" and 48.57% of students said they "agree."
Tennessee: The Governor's Early Literacy Foundation (GELF) announced the expansion of its K-3 Home Library program to deliver nearly one million books to teachers and students in all 95 counties statewide to combat summer learning loss.
Virginia: Lego will spend upward of $1 billion to build its second North American factory in Chesterfield County, Va., to move production closer to the US market where demand continues to grow.
Sidenote: It would be amazing if they use actual legos to build part of this…
Economic Recovery
Recession:
Wells Fargo now forecasts a “mild recession” starting in mid-2023, as inflation becomes more entrenched in the economy and eats into consumer spending power."
“The Federal Reserve is going to hike interest rates until policymakers break inflation, but the risk is that they also break the economy,” Ryan Sweet, Moody’s Analytics head of monetary policy research, said in a research note. “Growth is slowing and the effect of the tightening in financial market conditions and removal of monetary policy have yet to hit the economy.”
WSJ: "On Inflation, Economics Has Some Explaining to Do," Models that worked for decades broke down during the pandemic, and alternatives have yet to emerge.
"Inflation at the end of last year was more than double the median projection among economists surveyed eight months earlier and well above the highest forecast."
Resources
Accelerate: A Community Broadband Planning Program by the Benton Institute, Heartland Forward, and Blandin Foundation.
Coalition to Improve EdTech Data Collection: "Launched with an initial planning grant from the Walton Family Foundation, the effort will bring together some of the nation’s foremost experts on education technology — the EdTech Evidence Exchange, ISTE, InnovateEDU/Project Unicorn, Digital Promise, and the Center for Education Market Dynamics — to explore, and ultimately build, a federated data system designed to help educators efficiently access the information they need to make well-informed edtech decisions."
Affordable Connectivity Program Resources: Toolkit from ExcelinEd.
Was Pandemic Fiscal Relief Effective Fiscal Stimulus? Evidence from Aid to State and Local Governments: New working paper from AEI.
Progress and Potential: The innovations of pandemic learning communities led by leaders of color, via CRPE.
COVID–19 created a window of opportunity for leadership and innovation in communities of color.
Leaders of color drew on similar practices when designing the programs, including hiring staff of color, avoiding punitive discipline practices, adopting culturally relevant pedagogy, and supporting student and family well-being.
Leaders saw programs as a way to put advocacy proposals into action.
Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the programming.
Funding, expertise, and school reopenings challenge the future of these programs.
The Parents Keeping Their Children in Pod Schools: New York Magazine
"Then, in early March, Governor Phil Murphy lifted the statewide mandate—and yet this cluster of pods and micro-schools remained. Months of shared anger at schools had fostered solidarity among parents. That anger didn’t dissipate after mandates were lifted; it merely changed shape and direction. Masks, they now understood, were symptomatic of a larger problem, one with further reaching implications. Beyond pandemic-related precautions, Lindsay tells me this network helped her see “what was really going on” in schools. “You know,” she says after being asked to elaborate, “the curriculum changes.”
"Stacy Reiber, a former New Jersey public school teacher, posted an online tutoring ad back in the fall of 2020 and wound up spending the school year in a pod with seven children. She enjoyed the experience so much, she planned on finding another pod for the 2021 school year. When she began inspecting the market, however, she found the pool of prospective families had changed. “I thought it was more mask-based,” Reiber says. “But I eventually realized some of them just did not like the new curriculum.”
"Customizing that curriculum to meet parents’ desires is not exclusively a conservative phenomenon. Poon’s report followed one pod in Pennsylvania made up of Black and immigrant families. “For the first time they were able to choose books that reflected their families’ identities, their families’ values,” she says. In Colorado, a group of micro-schools calling themselves Zealous Schools orient around environmental awareness and “offer a climate-conscious curriculum.” In Arizona, an organization known as the Black Mothers Forum founded a set of micro-schools that features curriculum centering on Black historical figures, given their predominantly Black student body."
The Next100’s New Executive Director: Stefan Lallinger.
Amtrak Corridor: A first look at plans for the new Union Station in DC.
Juneteenth: New report and poll from More in Common.
John Cena Meets Teen Who Fled Ukraine:
"Misha, a non-verbal teen with Down’s Syndrome, didn’t understand why his family had to flee Mariupol this year."
"To placate him, his mother told him they were travelling to meet John Cena."
"Cena heard… and went to Amsterdam to oblige."