Schools Brace for COVID Surge: What New Variants & Vaccines Mean for Students

This is a bonus edition of John Bailey’s briefing on the pandemic. See the full archive.

Variants and Vaccines

BA.2.86 Variant

• This caused quite a bit of buzz a few weeks ago because scientists were concerned BA.2.86 had 30 mutations. Some have dubbed the new variant “Pirola.”

• “The evolutionary jump of BA.2.86 is similar to that of the original Omicron, which burst onto the scene in the winter of 2021, resulting in a spike in infections.”

• Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy: “Two more lab groups — one from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the other from Harvard University — have reported results of antibody neutralization lab experiments, which suggest vaccination or previous infection offer some protection against the highly mutated BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 variant.”

• Early indications are that the new boosters will work against this variant too:

  • “Moderna, Pfizer say updated COVID shots generate strong response versus BA.2.86.”

  • Via Eric Topol: “These data were published (preprint) with Moderna’s XBB.1.5 booster and show very good levels of neutralizing antibodies induced against BA.2.86, in keeping with the response to the target of XBB.1.5. Also note the similar response to 2 of the major current circulating variants of EG.5.1 and FL.1.5.1.”

  • “It’s been downgraded from a hurricane to not even a tropical storm. We’re lucky,” Topol said. “This one could have been really bad.”

  • “Early research data has shown that antibodies produced by prior infection or existing vaccines against the coronavirus were sufficient to protect against the new BA.2.86 variant.”
    

Reformulated Vaccines

• The updated COVID vaccine approved by the FDA is based on the XBB.1.5 variant.

• CDC advisers make universal COVID vaccine recommendation: Via CIDRAP.

  • “The advisory committee voted 13-1 to recommend updated COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 6 months and older.” It came one day after the FDA authorized for emergency use mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

  • “Shortly after [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] vote, the CDC accepted the group’s recommendation, which allows immunization campaigns to begin.”

  • Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina summarized the meetings.

• But: New COVID vaccine rollout hampered by canceled appointments, insurance issues (Associated Press/NBC News)

State of Affairs

Another Summer Wave

• Cases and hospitalizations rose over the summer and continue to rise.

Pediatric Cases on the Rise

• Via American Academy of Pediatrics: “Recent analysis of the data shows the number of children under age 18 with confirmed COVID-19 at hospital admission increased nearly five-fold from 237 new admissions the week ending June 17 to 1,175 in the week ending Sept. 9.”

• “June had the lowest level of pediatric COVID-19 hospital admissions since data collection began in 2020.”

Variants Fueling the Latest Wave

• The main variants driving cases are EG.5 and FL.1.5.1, both XBB variant descendants that share a mutation known as F456L, which appears to be helping them spread more than other virus siblings.

Free COVID Tests Coming Back

• “The Biden administration announced [this week] that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months.”

More Key Insights

• Schools Grapple With COVID Safety Amid Late Summer Surge: Via Axios

• CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen in the NYT: “As a Doctor, a Mother and the Head of the C.D.C., I Recommend That You Get the Latest COVID Booster“

• Anti-Vaccine Movement on the Rise: Via Politico
  

• How Long Should You Wait?: Katelyn Jetelina with a good summary about when to get vaccinated after an infection and the latest on mixing-and-matching shots.
  

• Chronic Absenteeism: Via the AP and Stanford University
  

• A Generation at Risk: Published by the Building Bridges Initiative, the report is the product of a partnership between Democrats for Education Reform and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

… And on a Lighter Note

• The Best of America: When Jaylan Gray’s mom died, he quit school to care for his brother. Shortly after, their house was in need of repair, that’s when a nonprofit stepped in to fix their home. And now, more kind strangers are helping Jaylan follow his dreams.

• Bear Cubs Getting in a Hammock: Is one of the greatest videos of all time.

Living the Good Life: A dog making some precision maneuvers in a helicopter.