Category: Covid-19

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Statement by President Joe Biden on Funding for COVID-19 and Ukraine – The White House

May 9, 2022

Ten days ago, I sent to Congress an urgent proposal to provide needed military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The plan was substantial in size, because the need is substantial: we must stand by Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression.The need is also urgent: I have nearly exhausted the resources given to me by a bipartisan majority in Congress to support Ukraines fighters. This aid has been critical to Ukraines success on the battlefield. We cannot allow our shipments of assistance to stop while we await further Congressional action. We are approximately ten days from hitting this critical deadline.I am pleased that, in my conversations with Congressional leaders, there appears to be strong support for the proposal I submitted, and Congress is likely to pass it in substantially the form I proposed. I urge them to do so, and again, I urge them to do so quickly.Previously, I had recommended that Congress take overdue action on much needed funding for COVID treatments, vaccines and tests, as part of the Ukraine Supplemental bill. However, I have been informed by Congressional leaders in both parties that such an addition would slow down action on the urgently needed Ukrainian aid a view expressed strongly by several Congressional Republicans. We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort. Hence, I am prepared to accept that these two measures move separately, so that the Ukrainian aid bill can get to my desk right away.However let me be clear: as vital as it is to help Ukraine combat Russian aggression, it is equally vital to help Americans combat COVID. Without timely COVID funding, more Americans will die needlessly. We will lose our place in line for America to order new COVID treatments and vaccines for the fall, including next-generation vaccines under development, and be unable to maintain our supply of COVID tests. In the fall, if we are hit by new variants, it will be too late to get the tools needed for protection critical treatments that will be available in Europe, but not the United States. In addition, our effort to help lower-income countries get COVID vaccines into arms will stall.So I call on Congress to pass the Ukrainian Supplemental funding bill immediately, and get it to my desk in the next few days. And then, I urge Congress to move promptly on the COVID funding bill. This virus knows no borders; we must continue to save lives here at home and around the world.

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Statement by President Joe Biden on Funding for COVID-19 and Ukraine - The White House

Correlating symptoms with COVID-19 test positivity in children – News-Medical.Net

May 9, 2022

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers analyzed the relationship between suspected symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and test positivity in children.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected public health and economics. In the United States (US) alone, more than 80 million cases and over 980,435 deaths have been recorded to date. In the early COVID-19 pandemic, adults were at an increased infection rate with more severe outcomes than children. As such, epidemiological data on children are limited, given the initial research efforts to study disease manifestations among adults.

According to a few recent reports, COVID-19 may present differently in the younger population than adults, as noted by the differential timing of symptom onset and severity of the disease. Whereas most pediatric cases are asymptomatic, symptomatic children might exhibit varying severity of symptoms across different organ systems. Moreover, mounting evidence suggests that the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is associated with COVID-19. MIS-C results in adverse systemic inflammation affecting the lungs, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal organs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the epidemiology of symptoms among pediatric cases to guide COVID-19 testing decisions.

The present study analyzed the prevalence of symptoms among children with COVID-19 concerns presenting to the emergency department (EDs) who subsequently took a COVID-19 test. The authors carried out a retrospective analysis of secondary data of children aged 17 years or lower who presented to ED facilities from March 15, 2020, to May 11, 2020. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was performed to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Testing was performed on any patient who was ordered for testing based on the guidelines set at the time.

Data collected based on electronic medical records (EMRs) were utilized, and the included variables were patient demographics like age, race, sex, insurance and ethnicity, date of visit, vital signs, and associated pediatric ED. A chart review was performed to document the presence/absence of symptoms using notes in the ED for every instance where COVID-19 testing was obtained. Pertinent symptoms reviewed were fever, sore throat, headache, cough, myalgias, shortness of breath, loss of smell/taste, and diarrhea.

A senior investigator reviewed all charts flagged for questions to resolve ambiguities. The prevalence of each symptom was computed by dividing the pediatric ED presentations with that symptom over the total number of ED visits. The rate of prevalence of each symptom was compared between those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and negative for COVID-19. Chi-squared tests were performed for categorical variables and Student t-tests for continuous variables.

The team identified about 516 patient encounters with suspected COVID-19 and they were subsequently tested. Of them, 46 cases were SARS-CoV-2-positive, and the remaining (91.1%) tested negative. A significant proportion (47.8%) of the positive cases were observed in those aged 12 to 17 years. The mean age of those testing positive was 8.76 years in contrast to 6.64 years for those negative for SARS-CoV-2. Intriguingly, although non-Hispanic individualsrepresented 78.5% of the study population, most positive cases (58.7%) were observed among ethnically Hispanic children. More than half of the positive patients had public health insurance.

Fever and cough were the most common symptoms for cases suspected of COVID-19. Children positive for SARS-CoV-2- had a significantly higher prevalence of myalgias and loss of smell/taste than pediatric cases negative for SARS-CoV-2. The prevalence of other symptoms like cough, sore throat, diarrhea, and shortness of breath was not significantly different between the two sub-cohorts.

In the current retrospective analysis, researchers observed that cough and fever as the most common symptoms among pediatric cases presenting with suspected COVID-19. Among those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, loss of smell/taste and myalgia were associated with COVID-19 test positivity. Although various studies reported fever and cough as the two predominant COVID-19 symptoms, the authors found no significant association with test positivity, despite many suspected cases presenting with fever/cough in the study cohort.

The study was conducted early in the pandemic when resources for COVID-19 testing were limited, and consequently, prudent allocation and utilization of resources were essential. Given that COVID-19 incidence is increasing among the pediatric population, these findings, which identified symptoms specific for test positivity among children, could help to strengthen SARS-CoV-2 test specificity and aid in the efficient use of resources.

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

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Correlating symptoms with COVID-19 test positivity in children - News-Medical.Net

Study: Serious COVID-19 Outcomes Are More Likely Among Unvaccinated With Heart Issues – Pharmacy Times

May 9, 2022

Individuals who are not vaccinated with pre-existing diabetes, heart artery disease, or high blood pressure had a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of death, investigators say.

Unvaccinated individuals who contract COVID-19 when they have pre-existing diabetes, high blood pressure, or major heart damage, are up to 9 times more likely to suffer serious outcomes, including admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), death, kidney problems and lung failure, according to combined evidence from 110 previous COVID-19 studies.

These findings can help us identify unvaccinated individuals who are at a higher risk of worse outcomes, even without special tests. This is particularly relevant where health care resources are limited but the proportion of unvaccinated individuals remains high, Sher May Ng of the Barts Health NHS Trust, said in a statement.

The study, which is published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, looked at almost 49,000 unvaccinated individuals in total and identified multiple predictors of more severe COVID-19 and worse outcomes for these individuals compared with vaccinated individuals.

Investigators found evidence showing that myocardial injury, known as heart muscle damage, at the time of admission to the hospital was associated with a 9-fold increase in the likelihood of death. Additionally, individuals who had pre-existing heart complications also had a higher chance of developing other complications from COVID-19, including acute kidney injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, and they also had higher rates of ICU admission and invasive mechanical ventilation.

Furthermore, investigators found that unvaccinated individuals with pre-existing diabetes, heart artery disease, or high blood pressure had a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of death, and they also had up to a 2.5-fold increased risk of other COVID-19-related complications.

When comparing the 3 medical conditions, investigators found that individuals with diabetes were at the highest risk for developing severe lung failure. Prior to the emergence of COVID-19, these conditions were already known predictors of heart attacks and strokes.

These findings present a strong case for these at-risk groups to be prioritized for vaccinations and other preventative measures. This is especially true in low- and middle-income countries, where the impact of cardiovascular disease is particularly high, Ajay Gupta, MD, PhD, senior clinical lecturer at Queen Mary and an honorary consultant in clinical pharmacology and cardiovascular medicine, said in the statement.

Successful vaccination programs have reduced the economic and social burdens of COVID-19, as well as effectively prevented severe disease, according to the statement.

Accurate prediction of risk for severe disease and adverse outcomes of COVID-19 can help prioritize vaccinations for the highest-risk groups and help allow effective planning of economic and health policies, investigators said.

More than 70% of the United Kingdom population is fully vaccinated, but less than 15% of the population in low-income countries have received any dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the statement.

In more developed countries, groups with cardiovascular risk factors in addition to other vulnerable groups could be selected for booster and annual vaccination programs, similar to the influenza vaccination program, Gupta said.

Reference

Unvaccinated individuals with heart problems up to 9 times more likely to die or suffer serious complications from COVID-19. EurekAlert. News release. May 4, 2022. Accessed May 4, 2022. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/951664

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Study: Serious COVID-19 Outcomes Are More Likely Among Unvaccinated With Heart Issues - Pharmacy Times

Estimating global and country-specific excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic – World Health Organization

May 9, 2022

Overview

Estimating the true mortality burden of COVID-19 for everycountry in the world is a difficult, but crucial, public health endeavor.Attributing deaths, direct or indirect, to COVID-19 is problematic. A moreattainable target is the excess deaths, the number of deaths in a particularperiod, relative to that expected during normal times, and we estimatethis for all countries on a monthly time scale for 2020 and 2021. The excessmortality requires two numbers, the total deaths and the expected deaths, butthe former is unavailable for many countries, and so modeling is required forthese countries, and the expected deaths are based on historic data and wedevelop a model for producing expected estimates for all countries.We allowfor uncertainty in the modeled expected numbers when calculating the excess.We describe the methods that were developed to produce World HealthOrganization (WHO) excess death estimates. To achieve both interpretabilityand transparency we developed a relatively simple overdispersed Poissoncount framework, within which the various data types can be modeled. Weuse data from countries with national monthly data to build a predictive log-linearregression model with time-varying coefficients for countries withoutdata. For a number of countries, subnational data only are available, and weconstruct a multinomial model for such data, based on the assumption thatthe fractions of deaths in specific sub-regions remain approximately constantover time. Our inferential approach is Bayesian, with the covariate predictivemodel being implemented in the fast and accurate INLA software. Thesubnational modeling was carried out using MCMC in Stan or in some nonstandarddata situations, using our own MCMC code. Based on our modeling,the 95% interval estimate for global excess mortality, over 20202021,is 13.316.6 million.

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Estimating global and country-specific excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic - World Health Organization

Hollywoods COVID-19 Claims: So Far, Insurers Have the Upper Hand In Court – Hollywood Reporter

May 9, 2022

When the pandemic began in early 2020 and sweeping lockdowns went into effect, insurance firms were facing a catastrophe. Billions of dollars worth of claims many from Hollywood companies, including those involved with the live-event business were pouring in across the country.

But instead of paying out, insurance companies looked to the fine print and started to deny claims en masse. Most insurers found that policies for lost revenue because of business interruptions excluded coverage for closures forced by the pandemic and required physical loss or damage to property. A legal war erupted over COVID-related insurance claims, and more than 2,300 lawsuits challenging coverage decisions have been filed, according to a COVID-19 insurance litigation tracker created by Penn Law professor Tom Baker.

With respect to business interruption claims, the insurance industry as a whole took a very aggressive position fighting those, saysTy Childress, chair of Jones Days insurance recovery group and the lead lawyer for World Trade Center Properties in the 9/11 insurance cases. You had smaller entities that shut down. This was their only survival.

Janet Ruiz of the Insurance Information Institute, a trade association whose members include some of the biggest insurers in the world, contends insurance companies didnt have the capacity to handle a crisis the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic. After SARS, insurers realized that pandemics are international, Ruiz says. Even with our loss reserves and any type of investing were able to do with them, it just wouldnt have been feasible to have that type of money-on-hand to pay for global losses like weve seen.

After two years and 1 million COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., insurers have been overwhelmingly successful in court, with nearly every case dismissed or ruled in favor of insurance companies. Judges have tossed more than 80percent of cases that get considered for dismissal. Many of the lawsuits didnt even make it past the beginning stages of the legal process.

In entertainment, such major players as UTA, Paramount and LiveNation sued their insurers after having their claims partially or completely denied. The suits garnered various results, from complete losses to surviving dismissal attempts to allow for discovery.

The Jeremy Zimmer-led UTA is among the hundreds of losers in the COVID-19 insurance coverage battles. The agency was a part of the first wave of lawsuits brought mostly by small businesses that couldnt survive without an insurance payout. UTA sued Vigilant Insurance Co. and Federal Insurance Co., two Chubbs subsidiaries, in November 2020 for $150 million, seeking coverage for losses tied to canceled live events and movie and TV productions. UTA argued that its broad all-risk policies for direct physical loss or damage should cover pandemic-related losses. It emphasized that Vigilant and Federal didnt include a virus or pandemic exclusion, which can make cases more open-and-shut.

The insurers, as in hundreds of other cases, maintained that the phrase direct physical loss requires an actual change or physical alteration to the insured property. They claimed that the temporary limitations placed on the use of UTAs properties by the closure orders and the alleged presence of the virus in its buildings failed to satisfy those criteria. On top of that, they argued that UTA didnt sufficiently allege that the virus was actually present at its properties, and even if it could make such an allegation, they said that thevirus harms human beings, not property.

A Los Angeles judge and state appellate panel sided with the insurers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many insureds have asserted arguments similar to UTAs, and the majority of courts have rejected them, reads an order from Californias Second Appellate District issued in April. It is now widely established that temporary loss of use of a property due to pandemic-related closure orders, without more, does not constitute direct physical loss or damage.

The appeals court kept in line with precedential decisions in California state and federal courts to go against policyholders in California. In Inns of the Sea v. California Mutual Insurance Co., the first state appellate court to weigh in on a COVID coverage dispute, it was found that the virus could cause direct and physical damage but that Inns didnt prove that to be true in its case.

An indicator of how COVID-19 coverage lawsuits have fared has been whether they were filed in federal or state court, according to attorneys entrenched in insurance law who have been following the litigation. Its a tale of two courts, says Childress. In the federal court system, insurers have been largely successful to date. In state courts, its a much more mixed story (although not for UTA).

Veteran insurance attorney Shaun Crosner notes that state courts have been more receptive to arguments that insured policyholders are advancing. He laments their federal counterparts dismissing cases before they get to discovery, explaining that they should have passed on key questions to state high courts before ruling on certain issues.

Michael Levine, also a seasoned insurance attorney, agrees that federal courts have been prematurely tossing lawsuits. Some of these cases were brought early and poorly pled, Levine says. The problem is that they laid the foundation. Courts proceeded to uniformly follow the herd.

According to the COVID-19 insurance litigation tracker, 85percent of cases considered for dismissal in federal court get tossed, compared with 66percent in state court. The federal courts have largely gone for the insurance industry, Baker says. In state court, its been much more variable. Thats where the action is, because at the end of the day, these are state law questions.

Insurance contracts are governed by state law. This means that federal courts will ultimately have to follow the lead of the high courts of each state on key questions like whether COVID-19 causes physical damage to property, which would trigger coverage for most all-risk policies.

This means that insurance coverage disputes will ultimately be decided by the supreme courts of each state.

In April, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Iowa Supreme Court became the first high courts to decide if businesses should prevail in lawsuits challenging coverage denials. They both sided with insurers.

The cases swung on whether there was physical damage to the properties that triggered coverage. Although policyholder Wakonda Club lost in its lawsuit before the Iowa Supreme Court, the justices held that contamination can constitute physical loss or damage. Like in Inns of the Seas case in California, the court didnt shut the door on recovery of claims for all-risk policies. It just said that the case didnt present the necessary circumstances for it to find in favor of policyholders.

Baker says the ruling lays out a roadmap for some of these larger cases to prove that the virus contaminated the air, physically altering and damaging property like HVAC systems and assembly lines, which in turn forced businesses to cease operations.

Childress predicts that some decisions from federal courts that were prematurely decided could start to unravel depending on what higher state courts do.

For insurers, even one ruling siding with policyholders on the direct physical loss or damage issue could spell major trouble. Claire Howard, senior vp and general counsel of American Property Casualty Insurance Association, cautions that a court ruling mandating retroactive business interruption coverage would undermine the stability of the insurance industry and its ability to pay claims on all existing insurance policies.

But entertainment players like the Michael Rapino-led LiveNation, MLB and the Los Angeles Lakers all of which are pursuing cases in California may have some reason to believe that theyll be able to recover on their claims. While insurers maintain an unbeaten record in insurance coverage cases so far, that may soon change.

In February, a federal judge found that insurer Factory Mutual may be on the hook for Live Nations losses because of closures forced by the pandemic. U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt in a key ruling concluded that its possible that the presence of COVID-19 caused physical loss or damage to property, holding that virus droplets could have physically damaged property.

MLBs suit claiming more than $1billion in losses as a result of the pandemic is similarly promising, especially because it was filed in state court, where claims have been allowed to proceed moreliberally.

According to John Tomlinson, chief executive of Gravitas Insurance, policies for entertainment spaces offering varying levels of coverage for local government-mandated shutdowns have emerged over the past year. He says they havent been widely adopted, however, because theyre too expensive.

Bryan Sullivan, an attorney in the entertainment industry who has represented policyholders, estimates that those who opt for COVID-19 coverage pay an additional 10 to 15percent. If its a big enough production, insurance alone could be half a million to $1million, he says. If youre doing a Marvel movie, Im sure its far greater than that around $10million. At those numbers, it has an impact.

A version of this story first appeared in the May 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.Click here to subscribe.

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Hollywoods COVID-19 Claims: So Far, Insurers Have the Upper Hand In Court - Hollywood Reporter

UGA to discontinue COVID-19 measures, will continue vaccines – Red and Black

May 9, 2022

The University of Georgia will end campus COVID-19 measures on May 16, according to a Monday Archnews email. UGA will begin treating COVID-19 the same as other infectious disease cases. The measures set to be discontinued include:

Weekly health and exposure updates on the COVID-19 website (a final update will publish on May 18)

Weekend call center staffing by Student Care and Outreach

Isolation and quarantine housing accommodations

Pop-up and surveillance testing

The reporting tool DawgCheck

The University System of Georgia, in compliance with a federal court judgment, no longer requires passengers to wear masks on campus transportation.

Faculty, employees, students and their qualifying dependents aged 16 and up will continue to receive free first, second and booster doses of the Pfizer vaccination from the University Health Center.

UGA plans to maintain a license for the DawgCheck notification system should it need to be redeployed and will continue to advise senior administrators as needed, the email said.

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UGA to discontinue COVID-19 measures, will continue vaccines - Red and Black

The new reality of COVID-19 in Erie – YourErie

May 9, 2022

Make no mistake, most of us are fed up with more than two years of battling the bug.

But the evidence is leading health professionals to believe that while the illness may not be as lethal as earlier strains, people who are older and immune compromised may be asked to go back to the tried and true preventions including wearing masks and distancing with a new wave expected this fall.

People are also advised to stay up to date with vaccinations.

Thats the best tool we have to prevent bad outcomes against COVID, and also wear a mask, no gatherings, and things like that if you are in that group of people, said Dr. Monika Murillo, LECOM Health.

A lot of things have changed with the bug in terms of its severity and the ways to fight it, but some things have stayed the same.

Some of the original suggestions including getting your vaccinations are still the best advice.

While the initial efforts was just trying to convince people to get vaccinated, now that many have the new frontier is booster shots, every four months for those at risk, both in terms of the initial shots and staying up to speed with boosters.

Get vaccinated with the series and if you have been vaccinated to check on your booster status. The booster is recommended if you have not received it in four months and youre older than 50 or if you have chronic medical conditions, said Dr. Chris Clark, MD, President of AHN Saint Vincent.

For news delivered right to you,subscribe to JET 24/FOX 66/YourErie.coms breaking, daily news & severe weather email lists

The ultimate goal may no longer be the elimination of COVID, but managing the illness the way an annual shot protects us from the flu.

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The new reality of COVID-19 in Erie - YourErie

COVID-19 Roundup: Janssen Vaccine Use, Seroprevalence of Infection, Neurologic Symptoms, Adverse Outcomes In Unvaccinated Individuals – Consultant360

May 9, 2022

FDA Limits Use of COVID-19 Vaccine1

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has restricted the use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in most patient populations.

The Jansen vaccine is now authorized for use only in individuals aged 18 years or older who are unable to receive other authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines due to access or clinical appropriateness, and individuals aged 18 years or older who want the Jansen vaccine and would otherwise not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

This decision comes as a result of an analysis on the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a rare but potentially fatal syndrome that results in blood clots and low levels of blood platelets. A total of 60 cases of TTS have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

Seroprevalence of COVID-19 Infections2

More than half of the American public has been infected with COVID-19, according to the results of a recent national survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers examined the seroprevalence of antibodies produced only during a COVID-19 infection to better understand the amount of asymptomatic, undiagnosed, or unreported COVID-19 infections within the United States from September 2021 to February 2022.

The results indicated the overall seroprevalence increased from 33.5% in December 2021 to 57.7% in February 2022. Additionally, approximately 75% of children and adolescents had evidence of previous COVID-19 infection as of February 2022, of which a third were newly infected from December 2021. Age groups with the lowest vaccination coverage had the highest increase of seroprevalence from September 2021 to February 2022.

Neurologic Symptoms Following COVID-193

Serious neurologic manifestations, such as stroke and seizure, occurred in 12.9% of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19.

Included in this prospective observational study were 16,225 individuals from 179 hospitals within 24 countries.

Of the total individuals included, 10.2% (n = 1656) had encephalopathy at admission. At admission or during the course of hospitalization, 2.0% (n = 331) developed stroke, 1.5% (n = 243) with seizure, and 0.5% with meningitis/encephalitis. These serious neurologic symptoms were associated with more severe disease, a higher likelihood of being admitted to the intensive care unit and to require critical care interventions.

Serious Complications in Unvaccinated Individuals4

Individuals with heart problems who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are 9 times more likely to suffer adverse outcomes and events following COVID-19 infection.

Researchers examined the relationship between hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and myocardial injury on the risk of death, acute respiratory distress syndrome, invasive mechanical ventilation, admission to the intensive care unit, acute kidney injury, and severe disease. They conducted a meta-analysis of 110 studies, consisting of 48,809 individuals with COVID-19 between December 2019 and July 2020.

COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury are at substantially greater risk of death, severe disease and other adverse outcomes, researchers concluded. Weaker, yet significant associations are present in patients with HTN, DM, and IHD. Quantifying these associations is important for risk stratification, resource allocation and urgency in vaccinating these populations.

Leigh Precopio

References:

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COVID-19 Roundup: Janssen Vaccine Use, Seroprevalence of Infection, Neurologic Symptoms, Adverse Outcomes In Unvaccinated Individuals - Consultant360

UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women

May 8, 2022

We are working with countries to assure the continuity of learning for all, especially disadvantaged children and youth who tend to be the hardest hit by school closures, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new unfortunately, the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption is unparalleled and, if prolonged, could threaten the right to education.

UNESCO will convene an emergency meeting of education ministers on 10 March to share responses and strategies to maintain the continuity of learning and assure inclusion and equity.

As of 4 March, 22 countries in three different continents have announced or implemented school closures. Just two weeks ago, China was the only country mandating closures.

Since then, thirteen countries have shut schools nationwide, impacting 290.5 million children and youth who would normally attend pre-primary to upper-secondary classes. A further nine countries have implemented localized school closures to prevent or contain COVID-19. Should these countries also order nationwide school closures, it would prevent an additional 180 million children and youth from attending school.

In response, UNESCO is supporting the implementation of large-scale distance learning programmes and recommending open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely. The organization is sharing best practices to leverage inexpensive mobile technologies for teaching and learning purposes to mitigate educational disruption.

School closures, even when temporary, are problematic for numerous reasons. Foremost is a reduction in instructional time, which impacts learning achievement. When schools close, educational performance suffers. Disrupting schooling also leads to other harder to measure losses, including inconveniences to families and decreased economic productivity as parents struggle to balance work obligations with childcare. The closures also compound educational inequities: economically advantaged families tend to have higher levels of education and more resources to fill learning gaps and provide enrichment activities to children who cannot attend school.

UNESCO is working urgently to respond to COVID-19, a major health crisis that now concerns the entire planet. The organization will continue monitoring the size, scale and geographic spread of school closures, and stands ready to support countries as they adopt appropriate inclusive measures.

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For more information and country by country data:https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavir...For more information on Education in Emergencies:https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies

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UNESCO | Building peace in the minds of men and women

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