Top Three
Pharmacists Now Allowed To Prescribe Pfizer’s COVID-19 Pill: The AP reports on the FDA announcement.
"The FDA said pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and then prescribe the medication, which has been shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19. Previously only physicians could prescribe the antiviral drug."
“Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment,” FDA drug center director Patrizia Cavazzoni, said in a statement."
UCLA Survey Quantifies COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Californians: Report.
"The survey also found that of Californians who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, 41% haven't gotten the vaccine because they believe it was developed too quickly and 30% said that they believe the vaccine is unnecessary."
"Only 12.1% of California adults turned to government agencies for their COVID-19 information. The most common resources were television (cited by 32.9% of respondents) and social media (19)." 21% of individuals with a graduate degree turn to government agencies for information vs just 5.7% of those with less than a high school degree.
Unvaccinated adults were 2x likely to report that the get their COVID-19 information from social media.
Omicron Sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 Make up 70% of COVID Variants in U.S.: Reuters reports on CDC data.
"BA.4 made up 16.5% of the variants in circulation, the latest data showed, while BA.5 accounted for 53.6%."
Federal
National Science Foundation: Announces $8.6 million partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and Schmidt Futures to improve STEM education.
White House: Communications Director Kate Bedingfield to step down. (WSJ / Politico)
Vice President Harris: Remarks at the NEA 2022 Annual Meeting.
ED: Releases Proposed Regulations to Expand and Improve Targeted Relief Programs.
Covid-19 Research
InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test Selected by Federal Government for Nationwide School Testing: Press release.
COVID-19 and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Study.
"Some patients with neurodegenerative diseases have already shown more susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and significantly higher mortality due to the elderly population with underlying diseases."
"Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 could cause damage to the central nervous system (CNS) that may substantially increase the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and accelerate the progression of them."
Reinfection: Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz is receiving some criticism for tweeting an article that claims it's possible to "be reinfected every 2-3 weeks and that infection confers no immunity."
The Top COVID-19 Vaccine Myths Spreading Online: Via Britannica.
The CDC Is Breaking Trust in Childhood Vaccination: Tracy Høeg and Leslie Bienen in Tablet.
Why We Vaccinate Kids for COVID: Via Noah Louis-Ferdinand.
"Given the likely cumulative effects of vaccination on reinfection, the benefits of diminished illness and fewer severe outcomes will grow in contrast to the front-loaded costs of vaccination."
"I thus am not sure what other comparable intervention would be as cost-effective as COVID vaccination."
"Because ultimately, I agree with Ladhani that this isn’t a massively consequential debate. I think childhood is relatively safe such that most interventions will yield modest benefits. Mainstream discussion of these nuanced efforts is bound to contribute more rhetoric than clarity and thereby exacerbate polarization. And for what?"
"Pediatric COVID vaccines can save lives, prevent severe disease, lessen symptoms for millions, are effective relative to other interventions, and may even pay for themselves. Knowing there is a moderate but positive effect on health we should agree and move forward, unless someone has a better way to spend the money. Kids fall needlessly through the cracks of our indecision."
State
California: Judge strikes down paused LAUSD student vaccine mandate:
"The ruling, however, has no immediate effect within the L.A. Unified School District, because the district in May postponed its mandate until at least July 2023 — a move that aligned with the state decision to pause its own school vaccine requirement until then."
"LAUSD was the first of the nation’s largest school systems to institute a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students, and despite the delay, school board members were resolute in defending it against lawsuits."
“Judge Beckloff’s ruling confirms that individual school districts do not have the authority to impose local vaccination requirements in excess of statewide requirements,” said Arie L. Spangler, a member of the legal team that pursued the case. “We are very pleased with the ruling, as it ensures that no child will be forced out of the classroom due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.”
Idaho: "Idaho has hundreds of teacher vacancies, and many schools can’t find qualified applicants. That could translate into unfilled positions and larger class sizes — and inexperienced teachers in hard-to-fill disciplines such as math, science and special education."
New York: I'm very disappointed that none of my NYC friends shared this news with me: a pod of dolphins has been visiting New York.
Related: Dolphins identify themselves with a unique whistle that scientists have likened to a human name. Here's how they decide what to call themselves.
Economic Recovery
Red States Are Winning the Post-Pandemic Economy: Via the WSJ.
"Since February 2020, the month before the pandemic began, the share of all U.S. jobs located in red states has grown by more than half a percentage point, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Brookings Institution think tank. Red states have added 341,000 jobs over that time, while blue states were still short 1.3 million jobs as of May."
"The movement is already starting to affect state economies and finances. Florida is on track to register a record budget surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30, which it attributes in part to new residents. The state is putting most of the extra money into a reserve fund to protect state agencies and residents during the next downturn, while investing in school construction and raising teacher pay, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said."
"One big reason so many people moved during the pandemic has been a desire for less expensive housing, according to an April report from the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank. By analyzing county-level census data, it found that large urban areas with high shares of commuters lost residents in the 12 months through July 2021. Among that group, large urban counties with the highest median home values experienced the biggest declines."
"In general, red states were less likely than blue ones to impose mask or vaccine mandates, social-distancing restrictions or remote schooling. Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools fell nationally during the pandemic, but the sharpest drops occurred in school districts that had more days of remote learning, according to a recent American Enterprise Institute study."
U.S. Logistics Gauge Shows Economy Downshifting Into Second Half: Via Bloomberg
"An indicator of US supply-chain pressure fell to the lowest level in two years, as a sharp drop in transportation costs underscores the slowdown in the nation’s economy heading into the second half of year."
Resources
From Zero Sum to Positive Sum: Michael Horn in EdNext.
Pandemic Effect: More fights and class disruptions, Chalkbeat reports on new data.
These Teaching Practices Are Trending As Schools Rebuild From the Pandemic: Via EdSurge.
Brave Puppies: In Ukraine, rescuers found a group of puppies underneath the rubble of a destroyed building.
When they looked closer, they saw the puppies were protecting a litter of newborn kittens.