Children

Vaccine Comparison  This preprint retrospective study compares the effectiveness of the Moderna (mRNA-1273) and Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2)  vaccines from January to July 2021 in the Mayo Clinic Health System.   The researchers examine effectiveness during which the highly prevalent waves of either Read More

Ongoing analysis of COVID-19 era data is uncovering important patterns to improve our understanding of pandemic effects on children and to inform post-pandemic schooling and education policy. New evidence characterizes (1) youth unemployment changes throughout the pandemic, (2) schooling modes Read More

A round-up of recent developments around the evidence on COVID-19 and schools includes: (1) preliminary snapshots of elementary and secondary school students’ performance on standardized test scores in 2020–21, (2) a new examination of the role of small class sizes Read More

This brief from Nature discusses mass vaccinations and its effects on the spread of COVID-19 in children.  Data from the small town of Serrana in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo indicate that adult vaccinations are a protective factor against Read More

Evidence suggests that there are several challenges facing school districts planning for summer 2021 and the 2021–22 school year—and that these challenges disproportionately affect disadvantaged students and schools—but research can also inform those planning efforts as well. A new RAND Read More

More evidence is emerging on the role of in-person K-12 schooling in COVID-19 community spread. While it is important to interpret these findings in conjunction with other studies on the contribution of schooling mode to COVID-19 health metrics in and Read More

Adolescent Vaccination Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination for use by those those 12 and up. This has raised several legal and ethical questions related to adolescent vaccine policies. [To find a Read More

Can an Indiana employer require Covid-19 vaccination as a condition of employment? As a general rule: Yes, a private employer can require an employee to get a vaccination, but most employers shouldn’t need to do this to ensure a safe Read More

This week, two new studies focus on COVID-19 spread in and around schools, new polling results provide updates on parent perspectives on schooling, and research coalesces around a few promising approaches to learning recovery. Mitigation Measures and In-Person Schooling A Read More

This week, the focus is on remediating student learning setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in light of states’ planning for use of American Rescue Plan funding for schools. In addition, the CDC updated guidance on safely operating summer Read More