Top Three
BA.5: Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Outlines Strategy to Manage BA.5
"The guidance is clear that every American age 5 and over should receive a booster five months after their primary series, and individuals age 50 and older or those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should receive a second booster shot at least four months after their first."
"The U.S. has three treatments that are effective against BA.5, including Paxlovid, a lifesaving antiviral pill that has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 90 percent. Americans who test positive for COVID-19 should consult their health care provider about their eligibility for these treatments, or visit COVID.gov to find a Test to Treat location where they can get tested and treatments all in one place."
"COVID-19 testing is now more widely available and accessible to the American people than ever before, and there are now 17 over-the-counter, at-home, rapid tests authorized for the U.S. market"
"To help ensure that Americans have tests on hand if a need arises, the Administration opened COVIDtests.gov for a third round of ordering ahead of the summer, meaning that 16 free tests have been made available to each household since the launch of the program."
NYT: "As part of the strategy to combat BA.5, federal officials are considering expanding eligibility for second coronavirus booster shots to adults younger than 50, according to several people familiar with the thinking. But those decisions will be made by the Food and Drug Administration and the C.D.C., and Dr. Jha was cautious in discussing the idea during the briefing."
Also NYT: "Expanding eligibility for a fourth dose of vaccine to younger adults would require regulatory approval; more discussions with officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in the coming days, according to people familiar with the situation."
Teacher Shortages: Teacher shortage has some schools scrambling.
“This is the most challenging hiring climate I have had in my 18 years of being a principal,” Shockley said. “It has been very difficult.”
"Shockley said the combination of retirements and teachers leaving, along with a shallow candidate pool, means districts are competing with one another for the teachers that are already in the field."
"Statewide, the use of emergency permits has risen by about 58 percent between 2016 and 2021."
COVID-19 Pandemic Hindered Latino Students' Educational Progress: Via UnidosUS. And more via The 74.
Federal
USDA: Partners with 27 states to issue child food benefits for the summer.
States with approved plans to issue electronic benefit transfer, commonly known as EBT, for children over the summer include:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Children are eligible for this temporary nutrition benefit, known as Summer P-EBT, if they receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year, or if they are under age six and live in a household receiving SNAP benefits.
The benefits are loaded onto a debit-type card that can be used to purchase food. Families of eligible children typically receive $391 per child for the summer, with higher rates for families in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories.
Covid-19 Research
Walgreens COVID-19 Index: I missed this but kudos to Walgreens for posting the results of their Covid tests. Really interesting but please visit slide 4 for important limitations. The positive rate by vaccination status is concerning.
Testing Undercounting Cases: Interesting analysis of data from San Francisco: the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is in blue, and publicly reported cases in red. The red curve might lead you to conclude cases are much lower than in January, but the wastewater values are as high or higher.
State
Colorado: Will conduct COVID wastewater surveillance in schools, hospitals this fall
Illinois: As teacher shortage worsens, schools cast wary eye on fall reopening.
North Carolina: North Carolina's COVID-19 state of emergency to end in August.
Economic Recovery
State Policy Playbook To Advance Youth Apprenticeship: Via NGA and New America.
Small Business Sentiment Drops Near 9-1/2-year Low: Via NFIB and Reuters.
Resources
Education Researcher Creates Free Summer Reading Program for Parents: Via The 74: "Georgetown’s Chad Aldeman explains why he created Read Not Guess after seeing his 8-year-old son’s bad reading habit."
Public School Districts Face Heightened Labor Cost Pressures: Via Fitch Ratings
"US public school districts are facing heightened labor cost pressures due to wage inflation, pre-existing staff shortages exacerbated by the pandemic and a tight post-pandemic labor market,"
"Application of federal funds to ongoing expenses, such as salaries, will need to be supported through long-term funding plans and recurring revenues to maintain structural balance. Lower rated districts, which often have weaker revenue growth and lower financial reserves, may be more constrained in managing rising expense pressures. Higher rated districts generally have healthier financial cushions to temporarily absorb increases in costs without meaningfully affecting ratings."
"Public education resignations were up 38% in April 2022 from February 2020. While job openings and resignations are tracking below the broader economy, school districts are less nimble and have less flexibility compared with the private sector to adjust compensation or other employment conditions to entice workers, as policies must be approved by the school board and remain in place for the school year."
‘Clock Ticking’ on Helping High Schoolers Recover from Pandemic Losses: Via K12 Dive.
How Do Teachers Spend Their Time?: New survey and blog from EdChoice.
Under Siege: The Outlook of AFT Members via Hart Research.
First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope: Just incredible.
Explore the detail of Webb’s high-resolution images in this zoomable format (about halfway down the page).
Deputy Project Scientist Amber Straughn explains what we're seeing in this image of the Carina Nebula.
To give you a sense of just the immense scale - NASA says the picture is like a grain of sand held at arms length. Pretty amazing visual to illustrate this.