News and Notes
In the News! Outdoor Lunch Petition Launched
Indoor dining during the pandemic is widely recognized as a high risk activity. The CDC, Dr. Fauci, epidemiologists, experts and the Arlington School Health Advisory Board all recommend that schools hold meals outdoors. Yet, APS has only "encouraged," but not required, outdoor dining in its schools, leaving this critical safety measure to the...
Research Round-up: New Studies on Kids, COVID, Higher Risks for In-Person School Households, and How to Reduce Risks
Recent studies have a deluge of new information about kids, COVID, and schools. Here we go on a quick round-up of some major research: .... CDC MMWR featured study: Actual number of kids infected with COVID-19 is much higher and simply under-reported. (Our note: Seems like that whole "kids don't get COVID" thing is so 2020.) Reviewed serologic...
Smart Restart on NBC National News!
We're partnering with teachers and scientists, like Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding and the Covid Action Group, to push for more federal dollars to help schools quickly implement the short-term projects recommended in the new CDC guidance on ventilation and filtration. And we were featured on national news this week, as more of our youngest students returned...
Recent Tweets and Facebook Posts
Our policy at @APSVirginia has not changed and we remain committed to creating welcoming environments for all of our students.
To our 🏳️⚧️ students: you belong here, and we will do everything in our power to ensure school is always a safe place for you. https://t.co/BtYKjRQnne
The judgment of our epidemic response should absolutely be how well we are protecting our most vulnerable. Leaders framing this the opposite way— don’t ever talk about health equity if you think this way
Lifting the booster fog
The evidence supporting boosters is incontrovertible. Summary of data for 4th vs 3rd shots for survival benefit, age 50+
The unequivocal benefit is for enhanced protection vs severe Covid
US registered COVID deaths in the last 12 months: 380k
US estimated flu deaths in deadliest recent season (2017-18): 61k
The past year's COVID deaths are higher than the worst recent year's flu deaths by a factor of 5.
COVID is still deadlier than the flu.
Glenn Youngkin likes to talk about “parents rights.” Well, parents have a right to send their children to school knowing they’ll be welcomed and accepted, not misgendered and discriminated against.
832 Americans died of COVID today.
Only 29 of 50 states bothered reporting. https://t.co/31hJZVZTop
U.S. COVID update: More than 800 new deaths
- New cases: 98,501
- Average: 62,813 (+2,051)
- States reporting: 29/50
- In hospital: 32,139 (-444)
- In ICU: 3,939 (-42)
- New deaths: 832
- Average: 469 (+42)
Parents and @fccps community- time to get involved at the state level. We have MANY students who will be impacted negatively by this change. The data around trans kids, when not accepted for who they are, isn’t good. We accept all students in our schools. https://t.co/gvEM1B1y0F
This is why I still advocate for indoor masking in public with a KN95, N95, or KF94 and improving ventilation and air filtration, not to mention the predictions of a bad flu season. https://t.co/6IJM9it81D
More good news on sars-2 vaccines: they appear to prevent long covid (we've been waiting for answers to this question). A propensity matched cohort from the UK found that 2+ doses of vaccine decreased adjusted long covid risk by 41% (95% CI 31%-50%).
My Kid Is Sick, Her Teacher Is Sick, Most of the Class Is Sick, the Lunch Lady Is Sick, the Nurse Has Been Out for Two Weeks, the Principal Is On His Third Round of Covid, but School Is OPEN!
BOOYA.
Has there ever been a federal program in history where "hundreds of billions of dollars" remain unspent? Tens of billions in Emergency Relief (ESSER) money $$ intended to make schools 🏫🧑🎓👩🎓safe from COVID-19 🦠 remains unspent. Let's look into why it maybe. ...(1/12) https://t.co/RaeCru4MwY
How is it that the vast majority of the $170 BILLION in **EMERGENCY** funding for schools, incl for infrastructure improvement, has not been spent?
eg, as of May, LA “hasn’t spent **ANY** of the $2.57 billion in American Rescue Plan money it received last year.”
After 2.5 yrs of skating it, COVID hit out house last week. Thankfully, extremely mild cases.
I am on my 8th day of testing +. I was largely asymptomatic (more on that...).
This experience has only solidified my belief that we need more calls for strong, public mitigations. 1/
Today, @r_prior and I have a new op-ed in @guardian on #LongCovid + labor shortages. We argue that it's wrong for mainstream narratives about The Great Resignation + "quiet quitting" to ignore pandemic harms. Many thanks to @haziethompson for her insights
https://t.co/lSePlNTX7r
This is why "you don't know anyone" with #LongCovid
"she rarely talks about these problems openly because 'In my field your brain is your currency. I know my value in many people’s eyes will be diminished by knowing that I have cognitive challenges.'" ...https://t.co/Zopij7ljZH
NEW from me: #Longcovid was a preventable tragedy. 1/ https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220915/long-covid-preventable-tragedy-some-saw-it-coming