麻豆精品

This is our weekly briefing on how the pandemic is shaping schools and education policy, vetted, as always, by AEI Visiting Fellow John Bailey. Click here to see the full archive. Get this weekly roundup, as well as rolling daily updates, delivered straight to your inbox 鈥� sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter.

Poor Vaccine Protection in Kids 5 to 11: New published on the preprint server medRxiv:

• “The research, conducted during the Omicron surge, is based on New York State Department of Health data and shows that protection against infection for 5- to 11-year-olds dropped from 68% to 12% within 1 month of full vaccination.”
• “In the Omicron era, the effectiveness against cases of BNT162b2 declined rapidly for children, particularly those 5-11 years. However, vaccination of children 5-11 years was protective against severe disease and is recommended.”
• “The finding of markedly-lower VE [vaccine effectiveness] against infection for children 11 years compared to those 12 and 13 years, despite overlapping physiology, suggests lower vaccine dose may explain lower 5-11 years VE,” the authors .
• : “The data come on the heels of disappointing results from Pfizer trials of an even lower vaccine dose in children under the age of 5. And they will raise questions about whether, in trying to find doses that were both protective and tolerable in children, the companies failed to hit the mark for both age groups.”
• BUT: Other suggest it may not be that bad
  • “The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE was highly effective at reducing the risk of severe disease in children 17 years and younger during the Omicron surge but didn鈥檛 work as well at preventing infection,” .
  • Via Stat, the data “suggest that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine aren鈥檛 very protective against infection for either age group in the face of the Omicron variant, but that protection against severe illness appears to be holding up equally in both sets of children. They do not suggest more rapid waning, or more marked waning, among the younger group of children.”

March 4, 2022 鈥斅燭he Big Three

New National COVID Preparedness Plan: . Four components with a few selected proposals.聽

• Protect Against and Treat COVID-19
  • “The administration will establish 鈥極ne-Stop Test to Treat鈥� locations at pharmacy-based clinics, community health centers, long-term care facilities and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.”
  • “The administration will launch a website where Americans can find the level of COVID-19 risk in their community and specific guidance based on that risk.”
• Prepare for New Variants
  • “The U.S. government will continue improvements to COVID-19 disease and vaccination data collection, wastewater surveillance and virus sequencing capacity so we are better prepared to respond rapidly to emerging threats.”
  • “FDA has developed new processes to accelerate the authorization and approval of a vaccine or treatment that targets any new variant while maintaining strict and longstanding practices to ensure the safety and efficacy of the products.”
  • “The administration has developed a comprehensive emergency response COVID-19 surge playbook to stand up mass vaccination and testing sites, expedite deployments of surge medical and emergency personnel, expand hospitals and emergency facilities, and provide emergency supplies.”
• Prevent Economic and Educational Shutdowns
  • “The U.S. government will also provide a Clean Air in Buildings Checklist that all buildings can use to improve indoor ventilation and air filtration and will encourage uptake of ventilation improvements. The administration will also provide technical assistance that encourages schools, public buildings and state, local and Tribal governments to make ventilation improvements and upgrades using American Rescue Plan funds.”
• Continue to Lead the Effort to Vaccinate the World and Save Lives
  • “America will continue to deliver the 1.2 billion doses we committed to donate to countries in need, continuing to leverage the partnerships the U.S. government built to donate and deliver vaccines to the rest of the world.”
• Plus: The White House released a fact sheet ahead of the State of the Union address outlining a plan to tackle youth mental health challenges.聽

Classroom Disruptions: .

• “In January, more than half of American children missed at least three days of school. About 25 percent missed more than a week, while 14 percent of students missed nine or more days.”
• 鈥淭he disruptions were spread across the country, with no region spared,鈥� according to the Times .
• 鈥淭he reasons for being sent home reached beyond COVID infections and exposures. Schools continued to face the fallout from remote school last year, including burnout and shortages among teachers and staff, and students who are struggling with academics, social skills and classroom behavior. In some cases, teachers have staged sickouts or asked for 鈥榳ellness鈥� or 鈥榮chool climate鈥� days.鈥�

Updated Mask Guidance: The CDC released and guidance. ()

• “Under the new guidance, ,” reports Stat.
• “School districts in areas where COVID risk is low or medium may now drop masks,” reports 麻豆精品.
• “The new system moves beyond sheer numbers of new cases to look at how well the health care system in each county is holding up. The idea, the CDC said, is to focus on minimizing severe disease and ensuring that hospitals are able to cope with COVID cases while still delivering standard care.”
• says he鈥檒l continue masking indoors regardless of CDC鈥檚 updated guidance and recommends others do the same to protect those at higher risk.
• Important change that isn’t getting enough attention: “Effective Feb. 25, 2022, , including early care and education/child care programs.”

---

Federal Updates

Department of Commerce: The U.S. Economic Development Administration received for the Good Jobs Challenge. .

President Biden Nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court: page. Biden . More via the .

• 鈥溾��when she applied to Harvard 鈥� [she] 鈥嬧�媎ecided not to care about 鈥榮lights and misperceptions and underestimations that came [her] way.鈥欌��
• “In her remarks, Judge Jackson emphasized her faith and her family. Her parents were . One of her uncles was Miami鈥檚 police chief, and another was a sex crimes detective. Her younger brother worked for the Baltimore police in undercover drug stings.”
• Jackson: “If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans.鈥�

New Federal Data Shows Pandemic’s Effects on Teaching Profession: on new .

• 鈥溾�楾he COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a staffing shortage in the nation鈥檚 schools,鈥� Commissioner Peggy Carr of the National Council of Education Statistics said in a statement.”
• “As of January 2022, 44% of public schools reported having at least one teaching vacancy, and 61% of them specifically identified the COVID-19 pandemic as a cause of those vacancies. Resignations accounted for 51% of the vacancies and retirements accounted for 21%.”
• “Custodial staff was identified as the staff position with the most vacancies, with 28% of schools reporting this vacancy, followed by transportation staff and nutrition staff positions, which 14% of schools reported for both positions.”

---

City & State News

Arizona:

California:

• Los Angeles County
• San Diego Unified鈥檚
• California proposal would

Maryland: “A Maryland legislative panel voted to at public schools, clearing the way for local school boards to implement their own policies the same day the federal government eased its mask guidance.”

Michigan: Detroit public schools “We currently agree with the Detroit Health Department that due to the city鈥檚 lower vaccination rates, our mask removal date will be later than other districts.”

New York:聽

• Student retention rates for New York City public schools rose a bit during the pandemic. and .
• : “But with full vaccination rates in the city at 78 percent and the latest surge clearly passed, this is the right time to lift the requirement for masks in schools. It鈥檚 a lot to ask young children to wear masks for several hours a day, especially when so many adults seem to struggle with it.”

Virginia:

• Telemedicine company brings

---

COVID-19 Research

140 Million Americans Have Had the Coronavirus: Via the . The estimates, compiled by the CDC, show that about 43% of the country has been infected.聽

• “Infection rates are much higher for children and younger adults, the study found. It estimated that 58% of children up to age 11 have antibodies from natural infection, along with the same share of children age 12 to 17.”

Did CDC Lower Speech Standard for Children Because of Masking?: No, according to multiple fact checks:

• : “The revision of language development guidelines by the CDC has indeed happened, but it is unrelated to COVID mask mandates.”
• : “There is no indication that the milestones were updated to cover up negative impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on children.”
• Deeper dive via .

Does Science Support Lifting School Mask Mandates?: Good piece .

The Limits of “Following the Science”: Via , “Two years into the pandemic, the idea of ‘following the science’ has oversimplified what’s actually a complex array of factors that policymakers must weigh in formulating a response.”

• “The CDC’s decision to loosen masking guidance is the latest example of a pandemic policy rooted in science, but that is ultimately a judgment call.”
• “President Biden took office vowing to ‘follow the science.’ But science is much less of a road map than it is information that should be used to choose the best route.”
• “Similarly, there is no scientific marker for when someone needs to wear a mask. This allows health experts and scientists to be able to disagree on what policy should be while still claiming that they are following the science.”

More Studies Point to Chinese Market, Not Lab, as COVID’s Origin:聽

• Via : “Scientists have released three studies that reveal intriguing new clues about how the COVID-19 pandemic started. Two of the reports trace the outbreak back to a massive market that sold live animals, among other goods, in Wuhan, China, and a third suggests that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spilled over from animals 鈥� possibly those sold at the market 鈥� to humans at least twice in November or December 2019.”
• “When you look at all of the evidence together, it’s an extraordinarily clear picture that the pandemic started at the Huanan market,” Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and a co-author of both studies, told the NYT.”
• More via the (along with maps and visualizations)
• 厂迟耻诲颈别蝉:听

Children Release Fewer Respiratory Droplets and Aerosols: According to a new which offers a clue to understanding COVID-19 transmission. More via .

• “Children ages 8 to 10 put out about a quarter of the aerosolized particles as adults do when breathing, speaking and singing.”
• “鈥業n the context of a pandemic, kids on average release fewer respiratory droplets and aerosols than adults do, and may be less likely to transmit'” COVID-19, Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineering professor Linsey Marr told CNN. “However, she also cautions that there is a lot of variability in particles emitted from person to person, 鈥榮o even though on average kids emit less, a high-emitting kid still emits more than a low-emitting adult.鈥�”
• “As states weigh decisions on lifting school mask mandates, [Baylor College of Medicine professor of molecular virology and microbiology and pediatrics Pedro Piedra] says it’s important to 鈥榥ot let down our guards and say that masking is not needed.鈥� Even though children 鈥榤ay not be able to generate the same energy in their voice for emission of small particle aerosols, they’re still very efficient transmitters,鈥� he said.”

---

Viewpoints and Resources

National Association of Elementary School Principals Releases Policy Recommendations to Address New Demands on Schools: identified five policy priorities based on the data and feedback from principals in the focus groups:

• Improve principal pipelines and workforce incentives
• Rethink testing and accountability
• Consult administrators on principal and teacher preparation and professional development
• Honor, recognize and listen to principals
• Boost funding and resources

The National Broadband Resource Hub: A philanthropic empowering government and community leaders to build a better broadband future.

How State Education Agencies are Leveraging Federal COVID Relief Funds:

System-Level Student Well-Being Data Review Tool: Via ()

Lessons for Improving Curriculum from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Morgan Polikoff with a new over at the Center on Reinventing Public Education

State Policymakers Can Support Equitable School-Based Telemental Health Services: Via

---

鈥� And on a Reflective Note

Prayer for Ukraine:

I’m Thinking About These Kids:

It’s March! I feel like it snuck up on us

---

ICYMI @The74

Weekend Reads: In case you missed them, our top five stories of the week:

• Investigation: Police Cam 麻豆精品s Reveal How School Cops and Educators Restrain Kids in Crisis
• Ukraine: Ukrainian-Born Students in the U.S. and Those with Strong Ties to Country Struggle to Balance Studies with News of War
• 74 Interview: New L.A. Schools Chief Alberto Carvalho on Declining Enrollment, Academic Recovery and How 鈥楩ailure is Not in My DNA鈥�
• Educator鈥檚 View: When I Was in 5th Grade, I Couldn鈥檛 Go to My Class Pizza Party Because I Had Only 62 Cents. That Will Never Happen in My Classroom
• Supreme Court: Biden Supreme Court Nominee, Praised for 鈥楽tellar Civil Rights Record,鈥� Could Face Conflict on Upcoming Harvard Admissions Case

For even more COVID policy and education news, .

Disclosure: John Bailey is an adviser to the Walton Family Foundation, which provides financial support to 麻豆精品.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.