Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Quarantines Hit Thousands Of Students In Florida, Elsewhere
Axios: Florida School District Sees 6,000 Students In COVID Quarantine
Nearly 6,000 students and over 300 staff members tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 in a Florida school district, officials announced Monday. The alarming number of people in quarantine or isolation has prompted an emergency board meeting at Hillsborough County Public Schools — the seventh-largest district in the nation. (Allassan, 8/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Possible COVID Exposure Has 3,000 Students, Staff At New Orleans Public Schools In Quarantine
More than 3,000 students and staff at NOLA Public Schools are quarantining due to possible exposure to COVID, the Orleans Parish school district said Monday afternoon. The district, which updates its COVID tracker each Monday, said it was tracking 299 "active cases" and 370 cumulative cases. A week ago, the district said there were 116 active cases and 638 students and staff quarantining due to possible exposure. (8/16)
AP: Kentucky School District Cancels Classes Due To COVID Cases
A Kentucky school district canceled classes amid a COVID-19 outbreak Monday while the governor warned that virus-related hospitalizations appear headed toward a pandemic high as the fast-spreading delta variant causes a growing surge of infections. Gov. Andy Beshear reported more than 6,770 new statewide coronavirus cases in the past three days and 25 more virus-related deaths — including 11 people 55 or younger. (Schreiner, 8/16)
CNN: Lancaster County, South Carolina, Student Covid Death: 16-Year-Old Dies From Covid-19 Complications As School District Struggles With Infections
As students return for the first day of school in Lancaster County, South Carolina, the district's leadership has confirmed that a 16-year-old student has died of complications from Covid-19. "We are saddened to learn of the passing of a 16-year-old Andrew Jackson High student from Covid complications," Lancaster County School District Superintendent Jonathan Phipps said in a statement. Chief Deputy Coroner Jennifer Collins confirmed the student died August 12. The 16-year-old's name is not being released because the student was a minor, the coroner said. (Lemos and Spells, 8/16)
In covid testing updates —
Los Angeles Times: LAUSD’s Health Screening System Fails On First Day But Can’t Snuff Out Excitement
Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles-area students started school Monday, a massive return to in-person education that was marked by pandemic-driven anxiety, a sense of excitement and early-morning frustration over the failure of the district’s health screening system, which caused long waits to enter campuses. The scenes from the nation’s second-largest school district included the familiar: Yellow buses hit the street on 1,500 routes; the youngest children and their parents exchanged tearful hugs and goodbyes; friends enjoyed happy reunions; teachers felt the jitters of standing before students after the long absence. (Blume, Gomez and Shalby, 8/16)
WPXI: Pennsylvania Health Dept. Announces Free COVID-19 Testing In Schools To Help Keep Kids In Classrooms
Shortly before the start of the new school year, the state announced two new initiatives focusing on vaccination clinics at higher education institutions and free COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools, to help keep kids in classrooms for the 2021-2022 school year. The state Department of Health is partnering with Concentric by Ginkgo Bioworks to provide free COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools across the commonwealth to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and outbreaks in schools. (8/16)
In related school news —
Health News Florida: Pediatricians Want Kids In Classroom But Warn With Delta Masks Are Needed
As kids are heading back to the classroom for in-person school this year, concerns about rising pediatric coronavirus cases are growing. Doctors are urging masks and vaccines to help reduce the virus’ spread. “We all still believe the best thing for the kids is to be in school. We are not saying don’t send the kids to school. We all want them to go to school. We don’t want them to be in virtual situations," says Dr. Nectar Aintablian, a pediatrician in Tallahassee. (McCarthy, 8/16)
The Wall Street Journal: As More Children Get Infected By Delta Variant, Parents Open Up To Vaccinations
When her 12-year-old son became eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccination in June, Stephanie Martin hesitated. She wanted to see more long-term data on the vaccine’s safety for children. Hearing about friends’ children who experienced some side effects reinforced her desire to wait. In recent weeks she has started to reconsider. She has seen news reports about the rapid spread of the Delta variant and children being hospitalized. And her son’s half-brother got infected with Covid-19 at summer camp, she says. (Reddy, 8/16)
Capital & Main: COVID And Kids: Rising Hospitalizations A Growing Concern
From the earliest stages of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the evidence pointed to one silver lining: Kids were thought to be in a safe harbor. They didn’t infect easily, the initial research indicated, and often their cases were so mild that neither they nor their families knew they were experiencing COVID-19. But the dark progression of the highly transmissible Delta variant has obliterated much of last year’s confidence regarding kids and COVID, both in California and across the country. The rate of infection among children is skyrocketing, according to data compiled by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the hospitalization rate is eclipsing peak levels recorded in January. (Kreidler, 8/16)
