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COVID-19 roundup

Posted in:

* AP

About 6 in 10 Americans say students and teachers should be required to wear face masks while in school, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Similar shares say teachers and eligible students should also be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. […]

The poll shows 59% of Americans support vaccination requirements for teachers and nearly as many — 55% — say the same for students age 12 and over, who are eligible to be vaccinated. Among parents, support was lower, with 42% backing vaccine mandates for students.

* SJ-R

[Dr. Marc Shelton, HSHS senior vice president and chief clinical officer] said the delta variant is more likely to hospitalize unvaccinated people younger than 65 because older people are more likely to be vaccinated. The variant also appears to make people sicker and in a shorter time period, he said.

A year ago, a rise in COVID-19 diagnoses typically was followed by a surge in hospitalizations eight to 15 weeks later, Shelton said. Now, because of the delta variant, it takes five weeks for patients to show up at the hospital after being diagnosed, he said. […]

The average age of COVID-19 patients in MHS hospitals now is 58, compared with 69 in 2020. These patients are requesting more interventions to maximize their chance of survival, and those interventions, such as using a ventilator to help a patient breathe, must take place in inpatient settings, Govindaiah said.

The rising hospitalizations has prompted Memorial officials to open new COVID-19 units and redeploy some staff from other jobs to provide more support at the bedside, he said.

* This is far worse than scamming the government to get a handicapped parking pass and should be treated far more harshly

An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. […]

In some cases, he said, he believes those problems justify an exemption under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because they interfere with learning.

But Laurie VanderPloeg, an associate executive director at the Council for Exceptional Children, an advocacy group, cautioned that under the federal law, children would not be allowed to go maskless simply because they asked.

Under the law, she said, school districts would have to go through a formal process to establish whether a child does, in fact, have a particular mental or physical disability, such as a respiratory condition, that would warrant an exception to the mask rule.

In Kansas, the Spring Hill school board is allowing parents to claim a medical or mental health exemption from the county’s requirement that elementary school students mask up. They do not need a medical provider to sign off.

I recently saw a video online of an anti-mask Illinois parent citing ADA at a school, so I presume this scam has arrived here. I’m so old I remember when we used to be disgusted when people lied about a disability to obtain undeserved special treatment.

* Tribune

As Chicago Public Schools students prepare to return to classrooms next week, a group of City Council and General Assembly members say they are “deeply concerned” about the district’s COVID-19 safety plans.

“The delta variant of COVID-19 has demonstrated its stronger transmission among unvaccinated young people, and we are deeply concerned that Chicago Public Schools’ current plan for students and staff to return to school buildings rolls back many important safety mitigation standards that can undermine the district’s objective of increasing equity for students especially in light of an ever-changing pandemic that is increasingly harming younger age groups,” Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, and Democratic state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas wrote in a letter Sunday to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle and interim CPS CEO José Torres.

The full letter is here. The full list of signatories is here and here.

…Adding… Tribune

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have hammered out about 25% of a COVID-19 safety agreement with just a week to go until students return to classrooms for full-time in-person learning, the union said Monday as it called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team to “get serious” about working out a full deal.

* Press release…

Rev. & Mrs. Jesse Jackson’s COVID-19 Update
Sunday, August 22, 2021, 6:00 p.m.
Statement by son, Jonathan Jackson

Chicago, IL — Both of my parents have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and especially because of their ages, physicians at the Northwestern University Memorial Hospital are carefully monitoring their condition.

Both are resting comfortably and are responding positively to their treatments.

My family appreciates all of the expressions of concern and prayers that have been offered on their behalf, and we will continue to offer our prayers for your family as well. We ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our parents. We will continue to update you on a regular basis.

* More…

* Cook County’s New Indoor Mask Mandate Takes Effect Monday

* 28 receive U of I System honor for leading COVID-19 response

* Durand CUSD 322 reverses course, will comply with the mask mandate

* This School Year Is Going to Be a Mess—Again: We have the tools to keep Delta in check, but schools have to actually use them.

* Some Americans No Longer Believe in the Common Good: They now are thinking only of themselves

* Pentagon to mandate COVID-19 vaccine, as Pfizer is approved

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:24 am

Comments

  1. Adding one more: “There is a drastic increase in the number of pregnant women in Springfield who are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. It’s overwhelming at HSHS St. John’s hospital.”
    https://newschannel20.com/news/local/alarming-increase-of-unvaccinated-pregnant-women-are-admitted-to-local-hospital-for-covid

    Comment by Cheswick Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:37 am

  2. A sad commentary on our society that people will try any scam to allow them to ignore measures to protect their children and others from serious illness or death. I can’t comment on how I really feel because Rich would ban me.

    Comment by Norseman Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:44 am

  3. The debate about the effectiveness of mask wearing will be over soon - college students attending state Iowa schools not wearing masks - college students in Illinois wearing masks - will it make a difference?

    Comment by Unstable Genius Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:46 am

  4. === The debate about the effectiveness of mask wearing will be over soon===

    It’s already over.

    You want a surgeon working on you maskless?

    Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:47 am

  5. Shouldn’t the accommodation for children who cannot wear masks be that they attend class online?

    Comment by SAP Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:54 am

  6. OK… so you don’t want the vaccine, you don’t want to mask up for yourself or anyone in your family, you don’t want to practice any sort of social distancing… then you may want to start preparing for the worst case scenarios… very high medical bills and possibly funeral costs. That is the reality of the situation, and it’s starting to become more and more of a reality for entire families right now, especially those who chose not to vaccinate when they are (or were) in good health and able to have a vaccination.

    Comment by Anon221 Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:01 pm

  7. ==You want a surgeon working on you maskless?==

    Or your dentist? Tell your exterminator or floor refinisher that, having done your research, you’ll be staying in the house.

    Comment by Jocko Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:09 pm

  8. =Shouldn’t the accommodation for children who cannot wear masks be that they attend class online?=

    They will work from home. No one enters without a mask. That is the rule. If they cannot wear one, they work from home. It may be online or it may be working on packets sent home, depends on the individual school/district capacity.

    Comment by JS Mill Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:50 pm

  9. Looking at those numbers in Perry, Franklin, Jackson, and Williamson County makes a strong case to suggest that it might not be the best of times to be holding the Du Quoin State Fair. Vaccination rates in the 30%s drive that nail home like a coffin.

    Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:16 pm

  10. Rich. Hope your covid test comes back ‘all good’.

    Comment by Blue Dog Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:52 pm

  11. So, who else thinks CTU is going to try to use current Covid/Delta spike to flex its muscle and show Lori who’s boss? The only reason I’d say they won’t is because I can’t figure out what they’d demand/threaten strike over. But I can’t believe they’ll pass up a chance to put Lori on the defensive.

    Comment by WestBurbs Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 2:00 pm

  12. I wonder if having bone spurs means you don’t have to mask up.

    Comment by bkhartbnjo Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 2:13 pm

  13. There seems to be a lot of overlap between the right-wing religious zealots and the anti-maskers, so I find it quite interesting that so many are choosing to “bear false witness” to justify their behavior.

    Comment by cover Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 3:41 pm

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