Top Three
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Strategy Shift:
"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will spend more than $1 billion on a sweeping national plan to improve math education over the next four years. Its goal: to help students succeed in school and land well-paying jobs when they graduate, given research that shows the connection between strong math skills and career success."
"A big problem with math as it is taught today is that students learn in isolation and can feel crushed when they get the wrong answer to a problem, says Shalinee Sharma, co-founder of Zearn, an educational nonprofit and Gates grantee who, with Hughes, spoke with reporters this week.”
"As Gates “hunkers down” on math, it will end its support for language arts, such as reading and writing, Hughes said. The change in approach likely means the end of support, once current grants run their scheduled course, for many education nonprofits."
"In addition to cutting grants on language arts, the foundation will no longer distribute funds to organizations that advance social and emotional learning. But the foundation said research it has supported on students’ well-being will be incorporated into the focus on math. Another grants program dedicated to supporting students with disabilities at charter schools will continue through 2023."
Via The 74: "The Foundation’s work in math is not new, but making it their top priority signals a major shift: from roughly 40% of its K-12 budget to 100% through 2026."
Via EdWeek: "Students, Hughes said, need digital tools that can adjust to where they are on a particular math skill and give them a chance to practice and advance, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with their peers on math problems, explaining to one another how they might have taken different routes to arrive at the correct solution to a particular problem. One glimpse into the type of tools Gates may have in mind: Zearn, a digital math program that works to quickly catch students up on the background they need to master grade level content. Its CEO and founder joined Hughes on the call with reporters, touting the foundation’s support for her nonprofit organization."
Prolonged COVID Test Positivity in Symptomatic, Omicron BA.2 Infections: CIDRAP on a new study.
"Among a group of vaccinated college athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 and underwent rapid antigen testing 7 days later, 27% were still positive—a proportion that climbed to 35% in symptomatic athletes and 40% in those infected with the Omicron BA.2 subvariant."
"The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommend 5 days of isolation followed by 5 days of wearing a well-fitting mask after a COVID-19 diagnosis."
"These findings could call into question the current guidelines allowing for exit of isolation after 5 days without requiring additional testing to prevent further spread, particularly in the setting of newer variants, such as BA.4 and BA.5."
Evaluation of mRNA-1273 Vaccine in Children 6 Months to 5 Years of Age: Study, Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the 2-dose of Moderna in children 6 months to 5 years during Omicron.
"Two 25-μg doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine were found to be safe in children 6 months to 5 years of age and elicited immune responses that were noninferior to those in young adults."
Federal
CDC: ACIP met today:
"Low-income children should be able to receive Covid-19 vaccinations at no cost under the federal Vaccines for Children Program, according to a panel of US health advisers."
"The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously to recommend Covid-19 shots from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.’s shot for children six months to 18-years-old."
"On Thursday, the panel will vote to update the 2023 childhood and the adult vaccination schedules, which are revised annually. The panel is likely to vote on whether Covid-19 vaccines should be added to the routine immunization schedules."
"While there is concern spreading online that adding Covid-19 vaccines to the immunization schedule would make them mandatory, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said that won’t be the case."
“CDC doesn’t mandate,” Califf said Wednesday. “People have a choice as to whether they want to get vaccinated, but I sure hope they do...it’s the one thing you can probably do to be alive for your family gatherings over the upcoming holidays."
Officials Traded Pandemic Stocks With Exquisite Timing: “Federal officials working on the government response to Covid-19 made well-timed financial trades when the pandemic began—both as the markets plunged and as they rallied,”the WSJ reports.
NTIA: Announcement: "Biden-Harris Administration Releases New Framework for Diverse, High-Paying Telecom Jobs"
Covid Research
FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization for Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted as a Booster for Adults: Press Release.
90-Day Analysis Shows Moderna’s Omicron BA.1-Targeting Bivalent Vaccine Demonstrates Superior Antibody Response as Fourth Booster: Announcement.
Alexander Tin: vs BA.1 after 90 days = "superior" + "durable"; vs BA.4/5 after 28 days = "significantly higher"; vs BA.2.75 after 28 days = "potent"
We Advised Biden on the Pandemic. Much Work Remains to Face the Next Crisis: Ezekiel J. Emanuel, David Michaels, Rick Bright and Michael T. Osterholm in the NYT.
"We are nearly three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, a health crisis so long, disruptive and deadly, it should have transformed the country’s preparation for the next public health emergency. Sadly, it has not."
"Rapid, low-cost at-home testing could be deployed to detect multiple infectious agents at once. There is still no comprehensive reporting system for individuals to easily submit their at-home test results to public health agencies, rendering a broad swath of infections across the country invisible to officials trying to slow their spread."
"Perhaps the most important missed opportunity was the failure to prioritize systematic improvement of indoor air quality. All sorts of respiratory infections, including flu and common colds, as well as asthma and other medical conditions, arise because of airborne pathogens and particulate matter."
"To improve this situation, national indoor air quality standards should be set, and buildings should be required to post whether they meet those standards. The initial focus should be on schools, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, jails and prisons and other high-risk congregate settings."
"The United States also needs to enhance its data collection and analysis."
Whites Now More Likely to Die From Covid Than Blacks:Via the Washington Post.
"A Post analysis of covid death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from April 2020 through this summer found the racial disparity vanished at the end of last year, becoming roughly equal. And at times during that same period, the overall age-adjusted death rate for White people slightly surpassed that of Black and Latino people."
A Variant Swarm Could Fuel Winter Surge: Via the Washington Post:
“For two years, coronavirus variants emerged, one by one, sweeping the globe."
“But this fall and winter are expected to be different: Instead of a single ominous variant lurking on the horizon, experts are nervously eyeing a swarm of viruses — and a new evolutionary phase in the pandemic.“
“This time, it’s unlikely we will be barraged with a new collection of Greek alphabet variants. Instead, one or more of the multiple versions of the omicron variant that keep popping up could drive the next wave. They are different flavors of omicron, but eerily alike — adorned with a similar combination of mutations. Each new subvariant seems to outdo the last in its ability to dodge immune defenses.”
"The pace of evolution is so fast that many scientists depend on Twitter to keep up. A month ago, scientists were worried about BA.2.75, a variant that took off in South Asia and spawned a cloud of other concerning sublineages. In the United States, BA.4.6 and BF.7 have been slowly picking up steam. A few weeks ago, BQ.1.1 started to steal the spotlight — and still looks like a contender to take over this fall in Europe and North America. A lineage called XBB looms on the sidelines, and threatens to scramble the forecast."
BU Lab Wasn’t Required to Clear Potentially Controversial Study With NIH: Via Stat.
"The director of a Boston University laboratory that conducted potentially controversial research on the viruses that cause Covid-19 said his institution didn’t clear the work with the National Institutes of Health because it wasn’t funded by the federal agency."
"In response to questioning from STAT, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which had awarded two grants to the research group, said on Monday that it should have been informed about the nature of the work beforehand, in order for a review to be conducted."
"The group created a hybrid or chimeric virus — in which the spike protein of an Omicron version of SARS-2 was fused to a virus of the Wuhan strain, the original version that emerged from China in 2020. Omicron viruses first emerged in late 2021 and have since splintered into multiple different subvariants."
"The purpose of the work was to see if the mutations in the Omicron spike protein were responsible for the lower rate of severity caused by Omicron viruses.The testing actually showed, though, that the chimeric virus was more lethal to a type of lab mice than Omicron itself, killing 80% of the mice infected. But the original Wuhan strain killed 100% of mice it was tested in. That suggests that the spike protein itself is not responsible for the pathogenicity of SARS-2 viruses, Corley said."
COVID Played a Role in 1 in 4 Maternal Deaths: According to a new GAO report (Axios)
"Total maternal deaths in 2021 (1,178) were 1.8 times higher than in 2018 (658), according to Wednesday’s report."
"From 2018 to 2021, the Black maternal mortality rate nearly doubled from 37.3 deaths per 100,000 live births to 68.9, per the report."
"While Latinas previously had a lower maternal mortality rate than white women in 2019, that changed in 2021 as the death rate climbed for Hispanics.
State
California: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s student enrollment numbers are down again this school year — but not by as much as district leaders expected.
"The 422,000-student count still represents a 1.9% drop from last year’s enrollment (about 430,000 students) — but it isn’t nearly as bad as the 4.1% drop that LAUSD officials forecasted last year."
Hawaii: The Hawai'i State Department of Education announced a partnership with Hazel Health that will expand access to mental health services for K-12 public school students. The statewide partnership will serve over 170,000 students across 295 schools.
Economic Recovery
Federal Reserve: September Beige Book
"National economic activity expanded modestly on net since the previous report; however, conditions varied across industries and Districts. Four Districts noted flat activity and two cited declines, with slowing or weak demand attributed to higher interest rates, inflation, and supply disruptions."
"Employment continued to rise at a modest to moderate pace in most Districts."
The Federal Bank of Chicago reported "Childcare and early education providers reported ongoing elevated staffing vacancies due to the tight low wage labor market."
Resources
Districts Invest in "Science of Reading" With Covid Aid: Via FutureEd
National Report Shows Signs of Growth, Recovery Among Early Learners and Middle Schoolers: Renaissance released new report How Kids Are Performing (Press Release)
"Overall, student performance on Star assessments was lower compared to the 2020–2021 school year, with exceptions in certain elementary grades. The largest declines were in the high school grades."
"Some high school grades also showed declines in growth, but fall-to-spring growth was stronger than in the 2020–2021 school year in many early and middle grades, which reached or exceeded typical growth."
"Although performance and growth varied among student and school groups, spring performance in reading was equal or lower in the 2021–2022 school year compared to the prior year, while performance in math was equal or higher than the prior year."
Let’s Use The Pandemic As A Dress-Rehearsal For Much-Needed Digital Transformation: Jean-Claude Brizard in the Hechinger.
"What should come next is an examination of how schools can more deeply and deliberately harness technology to make high-quality learning accessible to every learner, even in the wake of a crisis. That means a digital transformation, with three key levers for change: in the classroom, in schools and at the systems level."
"A digital transformation will also enable more dynamic ways of monitoring and supporting student progress. AI, for example, can support enhanced early warning systems that allow teachers and administrators to accurately identify needed interventions for individual learners."
Broadband: The 7th Annual Law Rocks Washington DC featured legal talent from the U.S. Government; Meta; USTelecom; Verizon; Somos; as well as the Wireless Infrastructure Association's very own CEO Patrick Haley. Rock on Patrick.
Pillars of Creation: Amazing new JWST photos. "The Pillars of Creation are a small part of the Eagle Nebula, a part of space where dense gas and dust birth new stars, about 6,500 light-years from Earth."
People From The Street: After Richmond, Ind., police officer Seara Burton was shot in the line of duty just days before her wedding, the whole community grieved deeply – including the city's homeless, who brought to the police station what was called "the most amazing gift."