As Schools Tiptoe Around Mandating Vaccines, More Rely On Covid Testing
But there's pushback on the increased testing: School nurses in Minnesota have reported no-testing pacts among some varsity sports teams that didn't want positive results to upset their seasons.
CNBC:
Despite FDA Approval, Some Schools Won't Mandate Covid Vaccinations
Now that Pfizer’s Covid vaccine has been approved for children ages 12 to 15, more schools may be able to reopen fully in person this fall. Yet the question remains whether schools will require students to get vaccinated. “It’s always better to reinforce positive behavior rather than mandate,” said Bob Bollinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and inventor of the emocha Health app. “But we have a precedent of requiring vaccinations to go to school.” (Dickler, 5/11)
The Star Tribune:
Schools Step Up Virus Testing, Despite Some Parent Pushback
At least 178 schools or districts have taken up Minnesota's offer of free COVID-19 test kits for students — a demographic seeing higher pandemic infection rates and lower vaccination coverage. The requests came in the two weeks since the Minnesota Department of Health offered saliva test kits to middle schools, high schools and sports organizations to increase surveillance of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Twenty clubs representing six sports have requested 1,013 kits as well. (Olson, 5/9)
New Hampshire Union Leader:
State Outlines Program To Test For COVID-19 In Schools, Overnight Camps
With a federal grant, New Hampshire will make COVID-19 tests available to children and staff in schools, overnight camps and some day care centers in the coming weeks — but regular testing will largely be limited to people at higher risk for contracting COVID-19, including students who play contact sports. More than 90 schools have already signed up to participate in the program for asymptomatic testing, according to the Department of Education. (Albertson-Grove, 5/11)
The Baltimore Sun:
COVID Testing Program Helping Baltimore City School System Track And Contain Infections
Baltimore City’s school system is now testing more than 15,000 people each week for COVID-19 — frequently before students and staff show any symptoms — in an effort to prevent the spread of infections within schools. The school system is now one of the city’s largest COVID testing sources, and has become a model for districts around the country. The schools employ saliva-based molecular testing for high school students and staff, but use pooled tests for those in kindergarten through eighth grade. (Bowie, 5/12)
In related news about covid and schools —
The Texas Tribune:
Study Shows COVID-19 Cases Rose After Texas Students Went Back To School
When Texas schools returned to in-person education last fall, the spread of the coronavirus “gradually but substantially accelerated,” leading to at least 43,000 additional cases and 800 additional deaths statewide, according to a study released Monday. The study was done by University of Kentucky researchers for the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and tracked weekly average COVID-19 cases in the eight weeks before and eight weeks after the state’s school districts sent students back to school in the fall. (Martinez, 5/10)
Mother Jones:
Hundreds Of Schools Are Using This Air Purifier To Fight COVID. A Lawsuit Says It Releases Toxic Chemicals.
Researchers have long known that the coronavirus is airborne, lingering in floating particles that spread whenever an infected person coughs, sneezes, or simply exhales. It’s the reason public health authorities have been urging schools to improve ventilation as part of their reopening plans: Bringing in more clean outside air can dilute the virus in classrooms, hallways, and cafeterias, helping to prevent spread. But thousands of schools across the country have gone a step further, using high-tech air cleaning systems in an attempt to fight COVID-19—often paying for air purifiers with federal CARES Act money intended to make schools safer during the pandemic. Now, a top seller of one of the most popular high-tech air purification technologies among schools is facing a federal class action lawsuit claiming that its devices could produce toxic chemicals in classroom air and do not work as advertised to fight COVID, according to a court filing. (Pauly, 5/11)
KHN:
Covid Fears Keep Many Latino Kids Out Of Classrooms
For the past year, 13-year-old twins Ariel Jr. and Abraham Osorio have logged on to their online classes from their parents’ flower shop. Ariel nestles in a corner among flowers, bows and stuffed animals. Abraham sets up on a small table in the back, where his dad used to work trimming flowers and keeping the books. It’s not ideal for learning: It’s loud. It’s cramped. It’s bustling with people. Still, when the twins’ mother, Graciela Osorio, recently had the chance to send her kids back to Brightwood Elementary in Monterey Park, California, she decided against it. (de Marco, 5/12)
