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This is our weekly briefing on how the pandemic is shaping schools and education policy, vetted, as always, by AEI Visiting Fellow John Bailey. Click here to see the full archive. Get this weekly roundup, as well as rolling daily updates, delivered straight to your inbox 鈥� sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter.

Younger Children Most Affected by COVID Lockdowns: reports on out of the UK.

• “Aggressive behavior such as biting and hitting, feelings of struggling in class or being overwhelmed around large groups of children were among the difficulties reported by teachers during interviews.”
• “Claudine Bowyer-Crane, of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, said the findings were worrying: 鈥楴ot only does it suggest that children who started reception in 2020 are struggling in the specific learning areas of literacy and math, but also that a smaller proportion of these children are achieving a good level of development.鈥� 鈥�
• “Teachers who spoke to the researchers said the disruption had left some infants with 鈥榣ow self-esteem and confidence,鈥� and that more children than previously 鈥榝eel overwhelmed鈥� by learning.”

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The Big Three 鈥斕齅ay 20, 2022

The FDA Authorizes Pfizer Boosters for 5- to 11-Year-Olds: and .

• : “Some experts have suggested that because children 5 to 11 received a much lower initial dose than older children or adults, they are particularly in need of a booster shot. One study done by New York researchers found that for children 5 to 11, the Pfizer vaccine鈥檚 effectiveness against infection fell to 12% from 68% by four to five weeks after the second dose.”
• Advisors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the booster for this age group Thursday, and Director Rochelle Walensky 鈥� on the committee鈥檚 recommendation,鈥� according to the Times.
• Related: Update on COVID Vaccines for Kids, via .

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Summer Sticker Shock: Via .

• “Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association, told CNN that .”
• “Just as households are paying more for everyday goods and services, camp operators said they鈥檙e incurring more costs by having to pay more for camp supplies such as food, bus transportation staff and insurance.”

With Plunging Enrollment, a 鈥楽eismic Hit鈥� to Public Schools: .

• 鈥淎ll together, America鈥檚 public schools have lost at least 1.2 million students since 2020, according to a recently published national survey.鈥�
• 鈥淪chool funding is tied directly to enrollment numbers in most states, and while federal pandemic aid has buffered school budgets so far, the Biden administration has made it clear that the relief is finite. Some districts are already bracing for budget shortfalls.鈥�
• More from 蜜桃影视.

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Federal Updates

COVID Supplemental: ““

• “Dr. Ashish Jha, the new White House COVID response coordinator, said the U.S. will not have enough money to provide vaccines for all Americans in the fall without money from Congress.”
• 鈥淲e have to plan for a scenario where we don鈥檛 get any more resources from Congress. I think we would see a lot of unnecessary loss if that were to happen,鈥� Jha said.”
  

Internet for All: The Biden administration officially launched the $45 billion 鈥�” with three Notices of Funding Opportunity and a new website:

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City & State News

Arizona: , including one that would impact the ability of future state leaders to respond to another airborne-spreading disease and a second blocking the state from ever requiring schoolchildren to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hawaii: while indoors for summer classes and related activities.

Louisiana: , Gov. John Bel Edwards said, backtracking on a plan that faced steep opposition from GOP lawmakers.

Missouri: Attorney General Eric Schmitt is as districts reinstate orders in the face of an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Pennsylvania: “The Philadelphia School District announced , isolate and test for the virus if they begin to feel sick.”

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COVID-19 Research

Omicron Variants: Via Science. “Omicron鈥檚 knack for immune escape is dramatic. … an entirely distinct virus.”

• “Once again, South Africa is at the forefront of the changing COVID-19 pandemic. Epidemiologists and virologists are watching closely as cases there rise sharply again, just five months after the Omicron variant caused a dramatic surge. This time, the drivers are two new subvariants of Omicron named BA.4 and BA.5, which the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa first detected in January.”
• “Like the earlier versions of Omicron, they have a remarkable ability to evade immunity from vaccines, previous infection or both 鈥� a disturbing portent for the future of the pandemic and a potentially serious complication for vaccine developers.”
• “Omicron鈥檚 rapid evolution creates difficult decisions for vaccine- and policymakers about whether to shift to a new set of vaccines or stick with the current formulations, which are based on the virus that emerged in Wuhan, China, more than two years ago.”

How America Lost 1 Million People: .

• 鈥淭he magnitude of the country鈥檚 loss is nearly impossible to grasp.鈥�
• 鈥淢ore Americans have died of COVID-19 than in two decades of car crashes or on battlefields in all of the country鈥檚 wars combined.鈥�
• 鈥淓xperts say deaths were all but inevitable from a new virus of such severity and transmissibility. Yet, 1 million dead is a stunning toll, even for a country the size of the United States, and the true number is almost certainly higher because of undercounting.鈥�
• 鈥淚t is the result of many factors, including elected officials who played down the threat posed by the coronavirus and resisted safety measures; a decentralized, overburdened health care system that struggled with testing, tracing and treatment; and lower vaccination and booster rates than other rich countries, partly the result of widespread mistrust and resistance fanned by right-wing media and politicians.鈥�
  

Omicron Tied to Croup in Children: New . “The investigators noted that, from March 1, 2020, to Jan. 15, 2022, 75 children were diagnosed as having COVID-19-associated croup at Boston Children’s Hospital. Of those, 61 (81%) were diagnosed during the Omicron period.”

Plaxovid Use Up 315% Over the Last Four Weeks: .听

• , via NPR
  

COVID Vaccines May Cut Hospital Omicron Cases in Youth: Via . “Two new observational studies detail Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine protection among U.S. children and adolescents amid the Omicron variant surge, one finding 71% efficacy against infection after a third dose in 12- to 15-year-olds and the second showing lower risks of infection and hospitalization in vaccinated youth aged 5 to 17 in New York state.”

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Viewpoints

The Pandemic Changed the Plans of Many 2022 High School Graduates: Via .

• “Nearly 1 in 3 seniors, or 28%, from the 2022 class changed their post-high school plans since the pandemic began, up from 18% in a previous survey in spring 2020.”
• “3 out of 4, or 74%, of the 2022 seniors report that they want to go to college, though they鈥檙e now facing new challenges. A 12th-grade white girl wrote, 鈥淏asically, COVID has just ruined my whole life plans. Now, I won鈥檛 be able to go to college or get that job because I don鈥檛 want to be vaccinated.鈥�
• “Fewer 2022 seniors say they participated in career counseling and college financial counseling than in 2019, with significant drops for those who are Hispanic, multi-racial, boys and in rural schools.”
• More from 蜜桃影视.

The Data Labs Playbook: The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University and National Governors Association released a to help state policymakers use data when developing innovative projects to benefit their residents.

How Have School Districts Spent ESSER Funds So Far? .

Making the Metaverse: Good, long essay by Nick Clegg.

Connection Over Content: A New Era for Education Technology: Via .

How Medicaid Can Help Schools Sustain Support for Students’ Mental Health: Via .

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鈥� And on a Reflective Note

• Taylor Swift:
• A Teacher Tells His Class:

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1525149889352675328?s=20&t=dL-S13IDMM5JgAeuOUuyRw

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ICYMI @The74

Weekend Reads: In case you missed them, our top stories of the week:

• 74 Interview: 鈥楶rovider of Last Resort鈥�: Superintendent鈥檚 Last Plea for Help for Her Students
• Assessment: Grade Inflation 鈥楶ersistent, Systemic鈥� Even Prior to Pandemic, ACT Study Finds
• Weaving School Success: At a 鈥楥ommunity School,鈥� This Educator Ensures All Kids Feel Known, Seen & Heard

For even more COVID policy and education news, .

Disclosure: John Bailey is an adviser to the Walton Family Foundation, which provides financial support to 蜜桃影视.

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