Top Three
To Boost or Not to Boost: Via Eric Topol
"Very strong evidence supporting boosters dates back to October 2021, when the results of the only large (~10,000 participant) (1st) booster randomized trial were released and later published, with a 95% reduction of symptomatic infections across all age groups, through the Delta wave, durable at that level for at least 4 months. There were no safety concerns or myocarditis. The efficacy level was fully restored to the original randomized trial (95%) reports in November 2020."
"Building upon the evidence for a 3rd dose were many vaccine effectiveness studies, and subsequently there have been 5 reports showing the benefit for the 4th dose vs those who had received a 3rd dose for reducing deaths, summarized in this table, for age 50+."
"The Moderna BA.1 bivalent vaccine booster data were just published and showed about a doubling of neutralizing antibodies vs BA.1 (and BA.5) for this vaccine as compared with the original vaccine booster. That’s good but leaves the question as to whether the BA.5 bivalent will do any better."
"Boosters provide substantive and unequivocal benefit for protection from severe Covid and help reduce Long Covid (magnitude uncertain), and still, despite the challenges of Omicron, have some early (~2 months) effect for reducing infection and transmission. We don’t know yet if the BA.5 bivalent booster is any better than the BA.1 or the original booster. Based on the evolution of the virus through Omicron and its subvariants, it appears unlikely the new vaccine will have a major or important impact on reducing infection or transmission (we got a hint of that from the new BA.1 NEJM study above)."
"The right question is about the future. We can’t go on getting boosters every 4 to 6 months and the premise of an “annual” shot is that the virus exhibits seasonality like flu, which certainly isn’t the case."
"We have a new variant to be concerned about: BA.2.75.2, a daughter of BA.2.75 ,with three new spike mutations that are troubling. This variant has the most immune escape these investigators at the Karolinska Institute have yet seen, and that has been replicated by Yunlong Cao’s group in Peking. Given these observations, our current variant-chasing strategy to catch up to BA.5 will not likely help us counter BA.2.75.2. That underscores the need for variant-proof efforts."
CDC Expects Omicron COVID Boosters for Kids by Mid-October: Via Reuters.
"The CDC said in a document released on Tuesday that it expects to make a recommendation in early- to mid-October on the use of the new bivalent vaccines in the group, if they are authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."
"The CDC said it expects Pfizer-BioNTech's, bivalent vaccine to be available for children aged 5-11 years, and Moderna's vaccine for those aged 6-17 years, pending FDA authorization."
Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Administration’s Head Start Vaccine, Mask Mandate: Via The Hill.
"Doughty’s injunction applied to the 24 state governments that acted as plaintiffs in this case. These states were: Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming."
Federal
Supreme Court to Consider Taking Up Challenge to New York's Vaccine Mandate: Via Politico.
Resources To Support Governors’ Advisors With Tracking IIJA Programs: Via NGA.
Covid-19 Research
Omicron BA.2 Breakthrough Infection Enhances Cross-neutralization of BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5: Study. While Omicron BA.1 infections did not induce significant cross immunity against subsequent infection with BA.4 and BA.5; breakthrough infections with BA.2 did induce measurable immunity to BA.4/5.
State
Colorado: COVID relief money helps Colorado schools pay for math and reading curriculum.
"The curriculum grants come at a time when many Colorado districts are adopting new K-3 reading curriculum to comply with a 2019 state law that requires them to use programs backed by research on how children learn to read. While there’s no similar law covering math curriculum, education department rules say the grants can only be used for certain math programs — specifically, those that earned top “green” ratings from EdReports, a national curriculum reviewer."
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Supreme Court rules school masking requirements don't need governor approval.
"Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ruled a ban on mask mandates in schools that relies on action by the state’s governor is unconstitutional."
"At issue was Senate Bill 658. The law passed in 2021 does a lot of things, but perhaps the most controversial was a ban on school boards enacting mask mandates unless the governor declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic."
“Local control of schools is usurped by requiring the Governor to exercise executive authority to declare a state of emergency,” Krauger wrote. “The statutes remove the school board’s authority to act independently and exercise the authority granted to school boards and it grants that authority to the Governor – who has neither constitutional nor statutory authority over the operation of schools.”
"However, the court upheld much of the 2021 law that bars school boards from taking actions to mitigate COVID-19 at the local level. Other pieces of the law remain intact, including the parts that:
"Prohibit any education institution in Oklahoma to require a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine passport to enroll or attend."
"Prohibit mask mandates for unvaccinated students."
"Require schools to post on their website vaccine options for parents."
"Require school boards to vote on any medical device mandates, including masks, at each board meeting."
"Require any mandate to be specific on which types of masks and the exact purpose they are being mandated."
"Require school boards to consult with their local county health department before implementing any medical device or mask mandate."
North Carolina: Wake County schools reports 343 teaching positions remain open as of Sept. 1, which represents about 3% of the district total.
The number is higher for child nutrition workers, where the vacancy rate is 13%.
The highest vacancy rate is for school bus drivers, with 30% of positions or 267 drivers still unfilled.
International
UN: "Over 130 countries heed call to reboot education systems, offering new hope to world’s children for a better future."
Resources
Reinventing the Urban HBCU: Paul Quinn College president Michael Sorrell broke tradition to ensure his students’ future, via the College Board.
Schools Increasingly Go Online During Disasters: Via VOA.
Public Schools Will Be on the Ballot in November: Jessica Grose in the NYT.
"Their reasons for taking their kids out of public schools varied, but I noticed some recurring themes:"
Parents feel alienated by school board politicization.
Parents whose children have learning differences feel abandoned.
Parents who are essential workers had to choose between their jobs and public schools.
The Case for Curriculum: Why Some States Are Prioritizing It With COVID Relief Funds: Via EdWeek
"A new CCSSO brief details the ESSER spending decisions of those states that are part of the group’s High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network. The collective, formed several years before the pandemic, aims to encourage schools to use curricula aligned to state standards and get students engaged in grade-level work."
"Advocates for a more standardized, district-led approach say that using the same curriculum across schools can ensure that all students are receiving grade-level work and that lessons progress in a clear sequence, building knowledge and skills as students move through the grades. As some states have urged districts to adopt high-quality materials, they’ve also offered aligned professional development and coaching to support teachers."
"Several IMPD network states, including Massachusetts and Tennessee, are using these funds to adopt new curricula or support schools in purchasing core reading and math materials. In some cases, states have introduced a quality-control element: In Nebraska, districts have to pick curricula that are high-quality, which is defined as meeting expectations on the nonprofit reviewer EdReports’ evaluations."
Do You Remember: The 21st night of September?