Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #77

[tresir2012]

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Trump administration is canceling some of its remaining orders for ventilators, after rushing to sign nearly $3 billion in emergency contracts as the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring.

The Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement affirming that the national stockpile has now reached its maximum capacity for the life-saving breathing machines, with nearly 120,000 available for deployment to state and local health officials if needed.

<modsnip>

Coronavirus Live Updates: HHS cancelling ventilator contracts, says stockpile is full

I would not necessarily say that they are not needed as there could be a surge if the vaccine is delayed. The need may have reduced due to better and new treatments but we don't know what other viruses are out their. Having a stockpile is a good thing. As we have heard, there are people who don't want the vaccine, or it may not be 100 % effective so these machines could well be needed. MOO.

ETA That's only 2,400 per state

 

[tresir2012]

What countries have had the most success with schooling issues?

Sweden is often mentioned as they did not close. Other than that my country Wales had schools going back a few weeks before the end of summer term and Scotland opened their schools in August IIRC with a few hiccups but overall OK I think. MOO.

Kids certainly cannot be sitting in a parking lot in the winter doing school work or even sitting in a car, while schools remain empty.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

More confirmation from non-paywall sources (since that is an issue for some).

Forbes: U.S. Won’t Join Global Coronavirus Vaccine Effort Because It’s Led By The WHO

The U.S. announced Tuesday that it would not join an international coalition to find and distribute a Covid-19 vaccine worldwide due to the group's association with the World Health Organization, the latest sign of the Trump administration withdrawing the country from the international health community's response to the pandemic over political concerns.

ABCNews: US says it won't join global effort to find COVID-19 vaccine

 

[musicaljoke]

That's a huge part of the problem. Even when they have computers, they are too slow and the infrastructure can't handle all the video. Things keep freezing and glitching. My wife has come home from work in tears more than once from the technology frustration.

That's very true. When mom and dad are working from home, plus kids trying to do school work, no home internet in Sticksville could even begin to keep up.

My bff has ordered home schooling material for her brood. If any one of her five kids gets a cold or has a runny nose, then all five have to stay home for 2 weeks. She predicts that at least one of her kids will have a cold at any one time all winter long. Since her husband works online from home, online school won't be possible.

 

[musicaljoke]

How are elementary teachers supposed to teach if not doing online classes? Do they send worksheets to the parents with instructions and the parents become the teachers? What if the home doesn’t have a printer? Can’t afford the ink? A hybrid learning model was the hope but didn’t happen.

The schools expect each child in a household to have a device. What if there is more than one child in the household? That’s great for those that can afford it plus an unlimited internet plan to support all those devices. Not to mention the parents working from home using the internet also.

All school districts are not equal. Some have beautiful campuses with all the amenities. Other struggle to get just the basics.

JMO

Our schools provide ipads to all students who need one.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

In NZ the trend is almost every household has access to an internet-friendly device and a decent broadband connection.

For those kids who couldn't do schoolwork online for whatever reason, they were sent free activity packs, full of a variety of projects and worksheets.

Bear in mind, however, that we are a nation of approx 5 million people and our public school system is centralized. I would assumed it would be much harder to coordinate with different states and school districts.

Edited to add: Musicaljoke also reminded me that our local school loaned out devices to as many students as they could as well.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Our schools provide ipads to all students who need one.

That is awesome!!

 

[CSIDreamer]

Our schools provide ipads to all students who need one.

All our students get chromebooks. I think they're called that lol.

 

[tresir2012]

This is a link to the Dutch Institute of Public Health and their Coronavirus schools info. This is available in English or Dutch. The link should come up in English but there is a selectable toggle if not.

Children and schools | RIVM

 

[mickey2942]

All our students get chromebooks. I think they're called that lol.

The problem is that I-Pad's, Chrome books, whatever, do not help a majority of students who receive Special Education services. They don't help kids who don't have internet access.

And, they don't help single parents, or even two parent households, that rely on school and after-school programs for child care.

I am quite interested in the salary and benefits schedule for all of these school district employees who are hanging out at home, not working. School lunch personel, coaches, para professionals, security...

 

[10ofRods]

The problem is that I-Pad's, Chrome books, whatever, do not help a majority of students who receive Special Education services. They don't help kids who don't have internet access.

And, they don't help single parents, or even two parent households, that rely on school and after-school programs for child care.

I am quite interested in the salary and benefits schedule for all of these school district employees who are hanging out at home, not working. School lunch personel, coaches, para professionals, security...

I don't know about schools in general, but where I live, none of these people are getting pay at this time. They are either on furlough or without a job altogether.

Paraprofessionals may still be needed in some special ed classrooms. Also, some special ed students are still going on campus for learning. Same is true in the colleges/universities for fields that require hands on learning.

California has very high rates of internet access, though. (Although about 15% of homes still don't have it). My Zoom classes are set up so that a student can go to a public hotspot and listen when they are able. The college has several, the student can go to a college nearer their home to use one if they wish.

What's interesting about watching elementary school teaching is that some kids are so far ahead of grade level that they can basically finish all quizzes, tests and assignments by the end of the first day of that week's class. They're still supposed to come to the online classes. But the teachers really are focusing on the kids who are at the bottom of the class, as they can easily see that some of the kids are working on the next week's material and getting 100% across the board. IOW, we have returned to what used to be called "tracking" kids (allowing some students to work in groups on more advanced material while others work at grade level and, of course, some below grade level).

 

[Simply Southern]

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October - CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.

The documents were posted by The New York Times and the CDC confirmed to CNN it has sent them to city and state public health officials.

The scenarios offer details about distribution for two Covid-19 vaccines when supplies "may be constrained." The documents prioritize particular populations for the vaccines, including health care professionals, essential workers, long-term care facility residents and staff and national security populations.

 

[SouthAussie]

<RSBM>

Paraprofessionals may still be needed in some special ed classrooms. Also, some special ed students are still going on campus for learning. Same is true in the colleges/universities for fields that require hands on learning.

We did similarly. Special ed schools were kept open, when other schools were closed for a while. The special ed schools tend to be smaller, easier to control the virus, the students seem to be compliant, and many of them really need their routine and can't understand a disruption.

 

[CSIDreamer]

The problem is that I-Pad's, Chrome books, whatever, do not help a majority of students who receive Special Education services. They don't help kids who don't have internet access.

And, they don't help single parents, or even two parent households, that rely on school and after-school programs for child care.

I am quite interested in the salary and benefits schedule for all of these school district employees who are hanging out at home, not working. School lunch personel, coaches, para professionals, security...

I should have said they've all got them for years. This isn't pandemic related.

Are your schools completely closed down?

 

[24Roses]

Iowa news today: As of 10:30-11:00 a.m. today, we had 740 new confirmed cases for a total of 66,137 cofirmed cases of which
48,015 have recovered (IMO +633). 4 more had passed away for a total of 1,125.
740 COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths reported in Iowa Wednesday
Iowa COVID-19 Information
Iowa State reverses course, first football game to be played with no fans
220 University of Iowa students reported positive COVID-19 tests since Monday
Reynolds: Wait to see if virus cases drop before new moves
‘Skeptical:’ Ernst suggests COVID numbers are inflated
Univ. of Iowa fall commencement to be held virtually
State reopens Iowa Small Business Relief Program to assist bars and taverns forced to close in 6 counties

 

[SouthAussie]

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October - CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.

The documents were posted by The New York Times and the CDC confirmed to CNN it has sent them to city and state public health officials.

The scenarios offer details about distribution for two Covid-19 vaccines when supplies "may be constrained." The documents prioritize particular populations for the vaccines, including health care professionals, essential workers, long-term care facility residents and staff and national security populations.

No specific indication of what vaccine this may be. According to the NY Times, the potential vaccines are simply labelled as Vaccine A and Vaccine B. Although it does say that the details seem to match the vaccines being developed by Moderna and Pfizer.

(Although this NYT article is paywalled, all a person has to do is sign up for a free account like I did - using your email address - and it can be read)
C.D.C. Tells States How to Prepare for Covid-19 Vaccine by Early November

Paraphrasing (I believe this is allowed as per TOS) Dr Fauci and Dr Hahn have said that a potential vaccine may be available to certain groups - they don't indicate which groups they are - before clinical trials have been completed, as long as the vaccine data is overwhelmingly positive.
The (3) govt guidance documents suggest the groups may be health care professionals, long-term care employees, other essential workers and national security employees.

Impeccable timing though. Right before what could be a dangerous covid winter, with many people having to stay inside. imo

 

[CSIDreamer]

No specific indication of what vaccine this may be. According to the NY Times, the potential vaccines are simply labelled as Vaccine A and Vaccine B. Although it does say that the details seem to match the vaccines beng developed by Moderna and Pfizer.

(Although this NYT article is paywalled, all a person has to do is sign up for a free account like I did - using your email address - and it can be read)
C.D.C. Tells States How to Prepare for Covid-19 Vaccine by Early November

Paraphrasing (I believe this allowed as per TOS) Dr Fauci and Dr Hahn have said that a potential vaccine may be available to certain groups - doesn't say which groups they are - before clinical trials have been completed, as long as the vaccine data is overwhelmingly positive.

Impeccable timing though. Right before what could be a dangerous covid winter, with many people having to stay inside. imo

BBM

Exactly. This is wonderful!

 

[musicaljoke]

No specific indication of what vaccine this may be. According to the NY Times, the potential vaccines are simply labelled as Vaccine A and Vaccine B. Although it does say that the details seem to match the vaccines being developed by Moderna and Pfizer.

(Although this NYT article is paywalled, all a person has to do is sign up for a free account like I did - using your email address - and it can be read)
C.D.C. Tells States How to Prepare for Covid-19 Vaccine by Early November

Paraphrasing (I believe this is allowed as per TOS) Dr Fauci and Dr Hahn have said that a potential vaccine may be available to certain groups - they don't indicate which groups they are - before clinical trials have been completed, as long as the vaccine data is overwhelmingly positive.
The (3) govt guidance documents suggest the groups may be health care professionals, long-term care employees, other essential workers and national security employees.

Impeccable timing though. Right before what could be a dangerous covid winter, with many people having to stay inside. imo

Thank you for posting this news article. It will be exciting to see how this unfolds. I wish all good things going forward.

 

[SouthAussie]

We have officially been cited as now being in economic recession - as has almost every other cited country.



The good news is that our personal savings during the pandemic is skyrocketing (orange line), so these savings could be a good buffer for families and individuals if things get tight.



'Economy held together with duct tape' as Australia officially enters recession

 

[katydid23]

I would imagine elementary is all in class with perhaps split days but I don't know. Perhaps any posters with elementary age kids or grandkids could let us know what their areas are doing.

My granddaughter just started Kindergarten last week. They live in Ventura County, California.

The first week of school was 'from home.' There was a ZOOM meeting the first morning. The students all saw each other and introduced themselves, quickly, one by one. Then the teacher explained to the class and the parents, how it would go.

She gave a quick overview of the lesson plan for next 2 weeks. Then she gave the link to a short teaching video the students could log onto later that day.

And she emailed some assignments for the week, to each student.

When they complete the days assignment, they can send it back to the teacher, a couple days at a time. So K did Mon and Tues schoolwork and sent it in on wed morning. And the remainder she sent in on Friday morning.

The teacher sent comments back to the student about the work. K was given some harder, higher level homework to do because she is already reading at a 2nd grade level, it seems.

So for her, this system is working because she can move faster academically. BUT MY CONCERN IS THE SOCIALISATION PROCESS.

I think, as an only child, she needs to learn how to be in a classroom and learn those kinds of social interactions she will need.