Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Washington State Enacts Strictest Vaccine Mandate Yet For Educators
USA Today: Washington State Implements Strict Teacher Vaccine Mandate
Washington state is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to include all public, charter and private school teachers and staff — plus those working at the state's colleges and universities. Those who are not fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 risk losing their jobs, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday. The policy is the strictest vaccine mandate announced to date for teachers. In other sectors, San Francisco, New York and New Orleans are all requiring vaccines to get into venues. (Aspegren, 8/19)
In other news about school mandates in New York, Tennessee and Louisiana —
AP: New York Can Require Masks In School, Says Lt. Gov. Hochul
Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday the state has the authority to mandate masks at schools. Hochul, a Democrat, is set to take office as New York’s first female governor on Aug. 24, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo will resign in the wake of an independent investigation that found he sexually harassed at least 11 women. Her assertion about masks in schools is in contrast to guidance from Cuomo, who earlier this month said he lacks the legal authority to impose mask mandates on his own. (Villeneuve, 8/18)
AP: Tennessee's Most Populous County Renews Mask Mandate
The health department in Tennessee’s most populous county reinstituted a face mask requirement Wednesday for indoor public places such as restaurants, bars and other businesses as a surge in COVID-19 cases strains hospital resources and causes concern in schools. A news release from the health department in Shelby County, which includes Memphis, said the mask requirement begins Friday and also applies to gyms, event venues and common areas of hotels and multi-residential buildings. The order also includes businesses such as retail shops, grocery stores and laundries, Shelby County Health Department spokeswoman Joan Carr said. (Sainz and Mattise, 8/18)
The Advocate: After Maskless Protesters Derail Meeting On Masks In Schools, Mandate Will Remain In Louisiana
A rowdy, chaotic meeting of Louisiana's top school board ended abruptly Wednesday when opponents of face masks for public school students refused repeated pleas to put on masks as required in public buildings. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 8-2 to adjourn, which derailed a planned debate on who has the final say on school safety mandates that critics of the masks were hoping for. It also means the mandate that public school students wear face masks indoors remains intact. (Sentell, 8/18)
Also —
The Advocate: As School Starts, More Students Have COVID In Louisiana Schools Than Last Year, New Data Shows
More Louisiana schoolchildren reported testing positive for the deadly coronavirus last week than during any week last school year, which ended in May. It’s yet another indicator of the alarming prevalence of the virus, particularly the more infectious delta variant that has come to dominate the state. The Louisiana Department of Health released this information Wednesday in a weekly report on COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools. That reporting was suspended over the summer but has resumed with the start of the 2021-22 school year. (Lussier, 8/18)
Axios: Tens Of Thousands Of U.S. Students Quarantining Or Isolating Due To COVID
The school year has just started, and already tens of thousands of students and school staff members across the U.S. are isolating or quarantining after testing positive or possibly being exposed to COVID-19, school districts and other officials said this week. The announcements come as health officials report an alarming number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 and amid tense debates over whether masks should be mandated for students and teachers. (Reyes, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Parents Face Fresh Covid-19 Stress As Schools Start And The Delta Variant Spreads
Many parents who couldn’t wait to send their children back to the classroom are watching Covid-19 cases and wondering: Do we need a backup plan? The rapid rise of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 is injecting uncertainty into annual back-to-school rituals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier this month that young children are at risk of becoming severely ill and that rates of Covid-19-associated hospitalizations in children under age 5 had tripled in the first half of July. (Morris, 8/17)
