Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Students Without A Covid Shot Face $750 Fee At West Virginia College
AP: Unvaccinated Students Will Have To Pay $750 At WV Wesleyan
West Virginia Wesleyan College says it will charge a $750 fee to students who aren’t vaccinated for COVID-19 for the fall semester. The school in Buckhannon also said in its campus arrival guidance for the upcoming semester that students who come down with the virus and can’t quarantine off campus will be charged $250 to do so on campus, WDTV-TV reported. (8/10)
AP: University Of Minnesota Shifts, Will Require COVID Shots
The University of Minnesota shifted gears on coronavirus vaccinations on Monday, saying it would begin requiring the shots after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approves vaccines. University President Joan Gabel announced the mandate in a letter to students and employees on Monday, joining hundreds of colleges across the country in requiring vaccinations. The university’s Board of Regents will need to approve the measure, which would join the mask mandate for all indoor spaces already in place across the university system’s five campuses statewide. (8/9)
The Washington Post: D.C. Teachers Union Says It Would Support Vaccine Mandate, With Caveats
The Washington Teachers’ Union says it would support a coronavirus vaccine mandate for teachers if the union has input over how it is enacted — a slight shift from its previous stance that the mayor should allow unvaccinated teachers to continue working if they are tested weekly for the virus. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is expected to make an announcement soon about whether she will require that city employees, including teachers, receive a vaccine as a condition of employment. Her administration said Friday that it has been negotiating over how noncompliant employees might be disciplined, among other issues. (Stein, 8/9)
AP: Some Maine School Districts Will Require Masks, Others Won't
School districts in Maine are taking varied approaches to mask mandates for the coming school year. The superintendent of the Bangor School Department announced on Monday that all students and school employees will be required to wear masks while inside school buildings. Superintendent James Tager said the district felt the wise move was to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for universal indoor masking as the coronavirus pandemic stretches into another school year. (8/10)
Fox 5 Atlanta: Protests In Fulton County As Schools Begin Classes Amid Mask Requirement
Dozens of parents came to Milton High School over the weekend to protest Fulton County School System's decision to mandate mask-wearing. They call it an infringement of freedom. Some parents are going as far as withdrawing their children. The district, the fourth-largest in the state, began classes for 94.000 students on Monday in Fulton County. (8/9)
Also —
USA Today: Pediatric Hospitals Filling Up As Delta Variant Surges: COVID Updates
Pediatric hospitals are filling with coronavirus patients as schools start opening amid the latest surge in infections, this one driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Children's hospitals in Tennessee will be full by the end of this week, the state health department projected. The 94 children admitted to Florida's Wolfson Children's Hospital in July was more than four times the number admitted in June. Schools are allowing students, maskless or with masks, back into the classroom. And some schools are closing as soon they're opening their doors. A district in Mississippi reported 114 COVID-19-positive students for the week of July 24-30 and 608 students under quarantine, pushing two high schools and a middle school to virtual learning until Aug. 16. (Bacon and Ortiz, 8/9)
CIDRAP: Depression And Anxiety Doubled In Children, Pandemic Study Says
Around the world, children's depression and anxiety rates may have doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a meta-literature review published in JAMA Pediatrics today. The researchers looked at 29 general-population studies, one of which was not peer reviewed, and found pooled depression and anxiety rates at 25.2% and 20.5%, respectively. Both depression and anxiety rates were associated with later stages in the pandemic and with girls, and higher depression was also associated with older children. (McLernon, 8/9)
