Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Wake Up Call': Kids In Day Care Are Spreading The Virus At Home
AP: Study: Kids Infected At Day Care Spread Coronavirus At Home
Children who caught the coronavirus at day cares and a day camp spread it to their relatives, according to a new report that underscores that kids can bring the germ home and infect others. Scientists already know children can spread the virus. But the study published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “definitively indicates — in a way that previous studies have struggled to do — the potential for transmission to family members,” said William Hanage, a Harvard University infectious diseases researcher. (Stobbe, 9/11)
Boston Globe: Families Asking Why Paid Child Care Is Allowed In Closed Schools
Continuing concerns about the coronavirus are leading Quincy Public School officials to start the school year remotely for most students, allowing only the youngest and those with special needs into the classrooms on alternating days. So many families were surprised to learn last week that some students shut out of the classrooms will spend their “remote learning” days in the school gym — at a cost to their parents of $346 a week. (Ebbert, 9/11)
Also —
AP: Teacher Departures Leave Schools Scrambling For Substitutes
With many teachers opting out of returning to the classroom because of the coronavirus, schools around the U.S. are scrambling to find replacements and in some places lowering certification requirements to help get substitutes in the door. Several states have seen surges in educators filing for retirement or taking leaves of absence. The departures are straining staff in places that were dealing with shortages of teachers and substitutes even before the pandemic created an education crisis. (Smith, 9/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Remote Schooling Out Of Reach For Many Students In West Virginia Without Internet
Just before 9 a.m., Hollee Blair sat in her boyfriend’s Toyota Tacoma in the parking lot of Chapmanville Regional High School and waited for attendance to be taken. With no broadband internet at home, Ms. Blair, a 17-year-old honors student who plans to study nursing after high school, used her boyfriend’s iPhone to connect to the school’s Wi-Fi for an hour-long orientation over Zoom. (Maher, 9/13)
Fox News: New York Officials 'Looking At' Mandatory Flu Vaccine For Public School Students: Report
New York officials are "looking at" the possibility of a mandatory flu vaccine for all public school students, according to a report. The question was raised on Thursday during a conference call with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, reporters and other state officials, an outlet wrote. Cuomo deferred the question about mandatory flu vaccines to state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, WGRZ reported. (Rivas, 9/12)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Stay Committed To Investing In School Health Clinics
For stakeholders like Robert Boyd, the economic fallout for hospitals from the COVID-19 pandemic is causing him to brace for the possibility that providers who sponsor school-based health centers may look at reducing their investments in such programs as a means of cutting costs. "In the short term are we going to lose some school-based health centers, probably," said Boyd, who serves as president of the not-for-profit advocacy and consulting organization, School-Based Health Alliance. "That's just an economic reality."But many healthcare providers say they remain committed to sponsoring school-based health clinics in spite of the economic downturn. (Johnson, 9/11)
In global school news —
CIDRAP: Child-To-Child SARS-CoV-2 Spread Rare In German Schools, Study Finds
In another study yesterday in Eurosurveillance, German researchers report that child-to-child transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appeared very uncommon after schools and childcare facilities in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg reopened. To gain a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools and childcare facilities in Baden-Wurttemberg after they reopened in May, the researchers compiled and analyzed data from infected children (ages 0 to 19 years) who had been to those schools and childcare facilities from May 25 to Aug 5. (9/11)
The Washington Post: Teachers Unions Clash With Governments Over Coronavirus School Reopening Plans
South Africa’s teachers were at an all-too-familiar impasse. In July, coronavirus cases were on the rise, as was government pressure to reopen schools. Educators concerned about safety pushed back. As negotiations faltered, the country’s largest teachers union threatened to strike unless the start date was delayed. (Berger, 9/12)
