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• COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report 21 (November 30 - December 20, 2021)

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  From the Summary: "The major theme for this report is that some consumers express distrust for the authorization of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines after CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] updated its recommendations with a preference for the Pfizer-BioNTech [Biopharmaceutical New Technologies] and Moderna vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine. A second theme is that consumers and news outlets continue to have questions and concerns about the SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Omicron variant. Third, consumers and parents continue to discuss concerns surrounding COVID-19 vaccines for children. The final finding from this report is that consumers have questions and concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 booster dose, mixing vaccine brands and types, and the potential need for additional booster doses. [...] Federal, state, and local partners should continue to work together to explain the rationale for updated guidance, respond to gaps in information, and confront mis/disinformation with evidence-based messaging. These efforts aim to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and expand vaccine uptake more broadly. Create, disseminate, and amplify messages, especially on social media, that explain why the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in most cases, including what has changed since the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine pause lifted on April 23, 2021."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-01-26
• Has Omicron Changed the Evolution of the Pandemic?

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  From the Abstract: "Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] virus carry differential risks to public health. The Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, first identified in Botswana on November 11, 2021, has spread globally faster than any previous variant of concern. Understanding the transmissibility of Omicron is vital in the development of public health policy. [...] The aim of this study is to compare SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks driven by Omicron to those driven by prior variants of concern in terms of both the speed and magnitude of an outbreak. [...] The observed Omicron outbreaks in this study reach the outbreak threshold within 5-10 days after first detection, whereas other variants of concern have taken at least 14 days and up to as many as 35 days. The Omicron outbreaks also reach peak rates of new cases that are roughly 1.5-2 times those of prior variants of concern. Dynamic panel regression estimates confirm Omicron has created a statistically significant shift in viral spread. [...] The transmissibility of Omicron is markedly higher than prior variants of concern. At the population level, the Omicron outbreaks occurred more quickly and with larger magnitude, despite substantial increases in vaccinations and prior infections, which should have otherwise reduced susceptibility to new infections. Unless public health policies are substantially altered, Omicron outbreaks in other countries are likely to occur with little warning."

  JMIR Publications

  Lundberg, Alexander L.; Lorenzo-Redondo, Ramon; Ozer, Egon A. . . .

  2022-01-31
• Supporting Disabled Veterans: The State of Claims Processing During and After COVID-19, Hearing Before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, May 12, 2021

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  This is the May 12, 2021 hearing on "Supporting Disabled Veterans: The State of Claims Processing During and After COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. From the opening statement of Jon Tester: "Last year the VBA [Veterans Benefits Administration] provided compensation to over 5 million disabled veterans and survivors. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has hampered VBA, leading to hundreds of thousands of backlogged claims. With the funds Congress provided in the American Rescue Plan, VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] anticipates getting back to pre-COVID numbers by late next year. I am concerned, however, that next year is not soon enough for disabled veterans weathering the storm of this pandemic. I am also concerned that as VBA concentrates on speed, it risks sacrificing quality. Disabled veterans must have confidence that their claims will be fairly and accurately decided. Last year's removal of the 48-hour review period is an example of when VBA, when obsessed with speed, removed a veteran's ability to correct the error before a final decision was made. Now, look. Everybody appreciates quickness, but forcing vets to appeal errors makes them wait longer, and, quite frankly, it is a nonstarter. So when it comes to renewing VBA's focus on disabled veterans, we have got some work to do." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Thomas J. Murphy, Elizabeth Curda, Ryan Gallucci, Shane Liermann, and Carmen McGinnis.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Rapid COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report: 'SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant' (November 24 - 29, 2021)

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  From the Document: "This is a special rapid State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report addressing public and media reactions to the discovery of a new SARS-CoV-2 [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2] variant, B.1.1.529 [Omicron]. This report employs the same methods and inputs from the COVID-19 [Coronavirus Disease 2019] State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report, yet specifically seeks to better understand consumers' perceptions and sentiments around the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The report details threats to COVID-19 vaccine confidence, content gaps and information voids, circulating mis- and disinformation, and relevant action steps. The information in this report is a snapshot from November 24, 2021, through November 29, 2021."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-12-09
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 18, 2022: COVID-19-associated Hospitalizations Among Adults During SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron Variant Predominance, by Race/Ethnicity and Vaccination Status -- COVID-NET, 14 States, July 2021-January 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This Early Release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]-associated Hospitalizations Among Adults During SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Delta and Omicron Variant Predominance, by Race/Ethnicity and Vaccination Status -- COVID-NET, 14 States." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-03-18
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 18, 2022: Effectiveness of mRNA Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19-associated Invasive Mechanical Ventilation and Death -- United States, March 2021-January 2022, March 18, 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This Early Release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Effectiveness of mRNA [Messenger Ribonucleic Acid] Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]-Associated Invasive Mechanical Ventilation and Death -- United States, March 2021-January 2022." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-03-18
• Suddenly Becoming a 'Virtual Doctor': Experiences of Psychiatrists Transitioning to Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Objective: "In response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, many psychiatrists have rapidly transitioned to telemedicine. A qualitative study was conducted to understand how this dramatic change in delivery has impacted care, including how telemedicine was provided by psychiatrists, barriers encountered, and plans for the future. The aim was o inform the ongoing COVID-19 response and pass on lessons learned to psychiatrists who are starting to offer telemedicine."

  American Psychiatric Association

  Uscher-Pines, Lori; Sousa, Jessica; Raja, Pushpa . . .

  2020-05-05?
• Experiences of Community Health Centers in Expanding Telemedicine

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  From the Description: "'Telemedicine,' or the provision of health care services at a distance by means of telecommunications technology, can improve access to care by bringing medical care into communities with limited access to providers or facilities, reduce wait times, and improve convenience. However, when telemedicine is offered in safety-net settings, it tends to be a low-volume service. To explore this issue, the California Health Care Foundation invested in the Sustainable Models of Telehealth in the Safety Net (SMTSN) initiative, which was in place from 2017 to 2020 and provided funding for telemedicine staff for 24 months. RAND researchers evaluated the experiences of health centers that participated in the initiative. Although the SMTSN initiative and this evaluation occurred before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically altered the regulation, reimbursement, and use of telemedicine services across the health care system in spring 2020, the findings presented in this report are relevant to health centers that are trying to rapidly expand telemedicine in response to the pandemic. Also, the barriers and strategies identified in the evaluation are likely to have ongoing relevance once some of the changes in place for the duration of the emergency are rolled back."

  RAND Corporation

  Uscher-Pines, Lori; Sousa, Jessica; Palimaru, Alina I. (Alina Ionela) . . .

  2020
• Case for a Telemedicine Coordinator: Lessons Learned from the Sustainable Models of Telemedicine in the Safety Net Initiative

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  From the Description: "This brief report offers lessons learned about telemedicine staffing and the coordinator role from the experience of nine community health centers in California that participated in the Sustainable Models of Telehealth in the Safety Net (SMTSN) initiative, which was funded by the California Health Care Foundation. As part of the SMTSN initiative, which aimed to support community health centers in increasing telemedicine volume, most participating health centers hired telemedicine coordinators or maintained someone in a coordinator role. The health centers tailored the coordinator role to what was needed based on each center's unique staffing and telemedicine models. Experiences with the coordinator role might be informative for health care settings that are planning for or currently implementing clinic-based telemedicine programs."

  RAND Corporation

  Sousa, Jessica; Palimaru, Alina I. (Alina Ionela); Ober, Allison J. . . .

  2020
• Promising Practices for Telemedicine Implementation

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  From the Webpage: "As part of the Sustainable Models of Telehealth in the Safety Net initiative process evaluation, staff from health centers in California described numerous promising practices that facilitated telemedicine implementation. In the context of the initiative, a 'promising practice' was defined as a practice that shows potential to support the growth and sustainability of telemedicine programs in safety-net settings. Promising practices are associated with successful outcomes in certain circumstances. However, there is not yet sufficient evidence to prove that they will be effective across settings. The practices discussed in this report fall into the following categories: practices to reduce or manage no-shows, practices to facilitate communication between primary care providers and specialists, practices for negotiating favorable contracts with telemedicine providers, practices to reduce obligations for on-site staff, practices to improve patient buy-in for telemedicine, practices to improve provider buy-in for telemedicine, practices to improve sustainability, and miscellaneous practices."

  RAND Corporation

  Palimaru, Alina I. (Alina Ionela); Sousa, Jessica; Ober, Allison J. . . .

  2020
• Climate-Related Extreme Weather Events and COVID-19: A First Look at the Number of People Affected by Intersecting Disasters

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  From the Summary: "The ongoing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis which intersects with the global climate emergency. Climate change has not stopped in the midst of the pandemic's global spread. In fact, COVID-19 is directly affecting and increasing the needs of persons affected by climate-related disasters. People in the path of extreme weather events are currently faced with overlapping disasters with compounding effects. [...] This paper aims to provide a preliminary analysis of the number of people jointly affected by COVID-19 and climate-related disasters - demonstrating the multi-layered nature of these crises and highlighting the compounded vulnerability faced by communities."

  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre; Global Heat Health Information Network

  Walton, Dan; Aalst, Maarten K. van

  2020-09
• EU Development Policy as a Crisis-Response Tool? Prospects and Challenges for Linking the EU's COVID-19 Response to the Green Transition

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  From the Executive Summary: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic hit the world at a time when the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss are becoming increasingly visible and require urgent action to prevent irreversible damage. The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic inequalities, with a particularly negative impact on developing countries. An effective European Union (EU) development policy response needs to go beyond an immediate response and confront the more complex challenge of having to balance short-term recovery and longer-term transformation towards global sustainable development. This paper assesses the preferences of EU institutions and member states in defining a development policy response to the pandemic and its implications. It focuses on two research questions: (1) What are the strategies of the EU and its member states to link the short-term recovery of the pandemic with longer-term socio-ecological transformations in their development policies? (2) How does the pandemic affect dynamics within and between the EU and the member states? The paper's analysis is based on a combination of a literature review, document analysis and semi-structured interviews."

  German Development Institute

  Koch, Svea; Friesen, Ina; Keijzer, Niels

  2021
• Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice

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  From the Introduction: "U.S. criminal justice figures continue to make us numb, elected officials and citizens alike. Yes, we know the U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other country in the world. Yes, we know that when we rank the per capita rate of incarcerations, the U.S. is followed closely by countries like El Salvador and Turkmenistan. We know that our recidivism rates are too high, and that we police our racial/ethnic minority communities too much and too often with tragic results. We know our fellow citizens, mainly people of color, living in those communities continue to suffer from higher rates of crime and police violence. And, lastly, we know these conditions prevail even though U.S. crime rates have fallen to 50-year lows (even considering the recent COVID [coronavirus disease]-era surge) making America about as safe as it was in the 1950s. [...] The essays in this volume are intended to provide policymakers in Congress and the Biden Administration with research-grounded guidance and insight on core issues and strategies that can sustain bipartisan support for critically needed criminal justice reforms."

  Brookings Institution; American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

  Ray, Rashawn; Orrell, Brent; Bushway, Shawn . . .

  2021-04
• Learning Loss and Student Dropouts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Evidence Two Years After Schools Shut Down

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  From the Abstract: "Following the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] in 2020, schools around the world closed for significant periods of time. Many scholars provided projections of the likely impacts on educational outcomes, with potentially dire impacts on learning loss and--especially in low-income contexts-dropout rates. Now, two years after schools began shutting down, we identify 40 empirical studies directly estimating student learning loss (29 studies) or dropout rates (15 studies) for students in pre-primary, primary, or secondary school in countries at any income level. Most estimates of average learning loss are negative, although-especially in low- and middle-income countries-this is not always the case, and average losses are not as significant as some models predicted. Furthermore, learning loss was consistently much higher among students with lower socioeconomic status in high-, middle-, and low-income countries, even in contexts with little or no average learning loss. In other words, the pandemic consistently boosted learning inequality. Dropout rates ranged dramatically, from under 1 percent to more than 35 percent, with much higher rates for older students, suggesting that pandemic school closures-together with other pandemic-related shocks-may have curtailed many adolescents' schooling careers. In some countries (e.g., Kenya and Nigeria), girls are at higher risk of dropping out. The vast majority of studies report results for students of primary school age (83 percent of studies), with fewer reporting results for students of secondary school age (45 percent) and even fewer studies (8 percent) for younger students."

  Center for Global Development

  Moscoviz, Laura; Evans, David K.

  2022-03
• Longitudinal Study of Complex Event Resilience of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Natural Disaster Planning and Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Wave 2)

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  From the Executive Summary: "Researchers at NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] and NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association] and launched a longitudinal effort to assess Complex Event Resilience of Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in May 2020. Initial data collection took place during summer 2020. This publication reports upon initial findings from the second wave of data collection, which took place between December 2020 and February 2021. This effort addresses the gap in research on the experiences of SMEs dealing with complex events generally and those that arise during a pandemic, specifically. Initial findings from the panel of respondents who responded to the Wave 2 survey, which covers self-reported experiences during the period August 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021, include: [1] 31.6 % of respondents experienced at least one natural disaster during this period. [2] 68.8 % of respondents implemented some adaptation/coping strategies for COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], with 26 % reporting the use of natural hazard mitigation strategies. [3] 28.7 % of respondents plan to adopt practices used during the COVID-19 pandemic in anticipation of future natural hazards. [4] 75.3 % of businesses are concerned about future complex events, of which 45.2 % identify their concern as arising from natural disaster(s) and a subsequent wave of COVID-19 associated restrictions."

  National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.); Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments

  Helgeson, Jennifer F.; Fung, Juan F.; Roa-Henriquez, Alfredo . . .

  2021-05
• Experiences of Health Centers in Implementing Telehealth Visits for Underserved Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from the Connected Care Accelerator Initiative

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  From the Document: "In the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telehealth use grew to maintain continuity of care and protect patients and providers. The sudden change in delivery posed challenges for some providers. Such organizations as the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) sought to support providers, particularly those that serve low-income individuals--including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)--in developing high-volume telehealth programs. In this report, we examine the experiences of health center providers in California that participated in CHCF's Connected Care Accelerator program, which helped providers navigate this transition. This work provides data on health centers' experiences with telehealth both before and during the pandemic, offering valuable insight into the policy implications of the use of telehealth as the pandemic continues and ultimately wanes."

  RAND Corporation

  Uscher-Pines, Lori; Arora, Natasha; Jones, Maggie . . .

  2022
• MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 18, 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Tobacco Product Use Among Adults -- United States, 2020"; "Progress Toward Achieving and Sustaining Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination -- Worldwide, 2000-2020"; "Reported Cases of End-Stage Kidney Disease -- United States, 2000-2019"; "The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' Recommendation for Use of Moderna COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccine in Adults Aged ≥18 Years and Considerations for Extended Intervals for Administration of Primary Series Doses of mRNA [Messenger Ribonucleic Acid] COVID-19 Vaccines -- United States, February 2022"; "Effectiveness of 2-Dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech [Biopharmaceutical New Technologies]) mRNA Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Infection Among Children Aged 5-11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12-15 Years -- PROTECT [Pediatric Research Observing Trends and Exposures in COVID-19] Cohort, July 2021-February 2022"; "Hospitalization of Infants and Children Aged 0-4 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 -- COVID-NET [Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network], 14 States, March 2020-February 2022"; and "QuickStats: Rate of Unintentional Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths Among Persons Aged ≤19 Years, by Age Group and Sex -- National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2018-2020." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-03-18
• Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response, Hybrid Hearing Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, December 1, 2021

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  This is the December 1, 2021 hybrid hearing on "Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response," held before the Committee on Financial Services. From the opening statement of Maxine Waters: "As this pandemic continues, the Biden Administration and congressional Democrats remain hard at work to provide protections and essential relief to individuals, families, and small businesses across the country. The emergence of the new Omicron variant shows us that this crisis is not over and we must remain vigilant to protect our country and our families from the devastation of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. [...] But our work does not stop at pandemic relief. We also enacted bipartisan infrastructure legislation, an achievement that has eluded Republican and Democratic Presidents alike for decades. Under the Biden Administration, we now have the funding in place and the programs to finally rebuild and refit our nation's bridges, roads, and railways, and bring broadband to millions. And soon, the Build Back Better Act will make long-overdue investments in the nation's affordable housing infrastructure, childcare, and education workforce. I hope that our Senate colleagues will quickly send this bill to the President's desk. While these investments will be critical, the Fed's unfinished objectives of full employment and price stability serve as a reminder that we must not leave anyone behind during this recovery." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jerome H. Powell and Janet L. Yellen.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Vaccines: Saving Lives, Ensuring Confidence, and Protecting Public Health, Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session on Examining Vaccines, Focusing on Saving Lives, Ensuring Confidence, and Protecting Public Health, September 9, 2020

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  This is the September 9, 2020 hearing on "Vaccines: Saving Lives, Ensuring Confidence, and Protecting Public Health," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. From the opening statement of Lamar Alexander: "First the progress toward a COVID [coronavirus disease] vaccine. Dr. Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, is here today to talk about that, research and development, Operation Warp-Speed which is working around the clock to develop manufacture and distribute a safe and effective vaccine to hundreds of millions of Americans. Some people incorrectly believe that warp speed means cutting corners, but it refers to the extraordinary investment in research, development, and manufacturing scale up for the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine. Perhaps most significantly the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, we call it BARDA, has taken up the unprecedented step to help speed up manufacturing for hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine early in the process so they can be ready as soon as the new vaccines are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In other words, they will be manufactured before they are approved, and if they are approved, they will be ready to distribute and if they are not approved, they will be thrown in the dumpster. Despite the speed with which scientists are developing this COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Hahn, the Commissioner of FDA, said the Administration is not or his agency, 'is not skimping on its review of safety and efficacy. This is going to be a science, medicine data decision. This is not going to be a political decision.' Dr. Hahn said. That means that if the FDA determines that a vaccine is not safe or effective after reviewing the science and clinical trial results, the vaccine will not be distributed." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Francis Collins and Jerome Adams.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Federal Student Loan Debt Relief in the Context of COVID-19 [February 28, 2022]

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  From the Summary: "Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only through the Direct Loan program, previously made FFEL and Perkins Loan program loans remain outstanding and borrowers of such loans remain responsible for repaying them. As of September 30, 2021, $1.6 trillion in loans from these programs, borrowed by or on behalf of 43.4 million individuals, remained outstanding. In response to the current COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, numerous questions have arisen regarding student loan repayment flexibilities and debt relief that may be available to individuals to alleviate potential financial effects related to COVID-19."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Hegji, Alexandra

  2022-02-28
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 11, 2022: Effectiveness of 2-Dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) mRNA Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children Aged 5-11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12-15 Years -- PROTECT Cohort, July 2021-February 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This Early Release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Effectiveness of 2-Dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech [Biopharmaceutical New Technologies]) mRNA [Messenger Ribonucleic Acid] Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Infection Among Children Aged 5-11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12-15 Years -- PROTECT [Pediatric Research Observing Trends and Exposures in COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Timelines] Cohort, July 2021-February 2022." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-03-11
• Job Openings and Labor Turnover Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic [March 10, 2022]

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  From the Summary: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and recession in early 2020 resulted in the swift and marked deterioration of national labor market conditions, with some lasting effects. While public focus has largely been on headline labor market indicators, such as the unemployment rate and job numbers, pandemic impacts are also reflected in official job openings and labor turnover statistics. As the economy recovers, reports of labor shortages in some sectors have drawn greater interest in these indicators. This report analyzes both long-term and recent trends for U.S. job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) at the national and sector level."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Romero, Paul D.; Nicchitta, Isaac A.; Donovan, Sarah A.

  2022-03-10
• 'Pandemic Food Assistance Programs':The California Department of Social Services Has Struggled to Deliver Timely Food Assistance Because of Unclear Federal Expectations and Other Factors Beyond Its Control

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  From the Summary: "As COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] cases rose and the State directed residents to stay at home in March 2020, the number of unemployed Californians more than tripled and schools suspended in-person learning. During this same period, growing numbers of Californians reported that their children did not have reliable access to food. To help address the increasing levels of food insecurity throughout the country, the federal government authorized additional forms of food assistance for families. First, Congress authorized states to provide additional payments to families enrolled in the already existing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These additional payments were known as emergency allotments (SNAP-EA). Second, Congress created a new food assistance program--Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT)--to provide payments to families whose children ordinarily would have received free or reduced-price meals at their school or child-care site. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) oversees both programs in California. Each program provides assistance through a benefit card onto which CDSS loads a household's payments. CDSS has been able to quickly distribute SNAP-EA payments to eligible families, and it was able to issue most P-EBT payments for March through June 2020 as well as August and September 2020 with minimal delays. However, CDSS has taken many months to issue P-EBT payments for the majority of school year 2020-21 and all of summer 2021, undermining the program's purpose."

  California. State Auditor (2013- )

  2021-10
• 'California Department of Public Health': It Could Do More to Ensure Federal Funds for Expanding the State's COVID‐19 Testing and Contact Tracing Programs Are Used Effectively

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  From the Summary: "This report provides an update on our assessment of the State's management of a portion of the federal funds it received to respond to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. In August 2020, we designated the State's management of federal funds related to COVID-19 as a high-risk issue and indicated that the likelihood of mismanagement of these funds was great enough to create substantial risk of serious detriment to the State and its residents. This audit focuses specifically on the California Department of Public Health (Public Health) and $467 million in federal funding it received for the State's efforts to address COVID-19."

  California. State Auditor (2013- )

  2021-04
• Study of the Effectiveness of Travel Restrictions in the EEA

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  From the Executive Summary: "There have been extensive travel restrictions in place across Europe over the last two years, ranging from mandatory quarantines to pre-departure testing and on-arrival testing. Despite these travel restrictions, Europe has experienced significant waves of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. While the current wave of infections associated with the Omicron variant is subsiding in most European countries, new Variants of Concern (VOCs) are likely to continue to emerge. However, nearly two years on from the start of the pandemic, there is a question about whether implementing travel restrictions to protect domestic populations against COVID-19 is a useful and proportionate approach. Indeed, analysis shows that travel restrictions have failed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The International Health Regulation Emergency Committee of the World Health Organisation (WHO) also recently highlighted the failure of travel restrictions to limit the importation of VOCs. As we look to a world where COVID-19 is endemic, it is relevant to consider the role of air passenger travel restrictions in limiting the importation of COVID-19, particularly as a result of new VOCs."

  Oxera Consulting Ltd.; Edge Health

  2022
• Letter from State Auditor Elaine M. Howle to the Governor of California, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the Assembly Regarding [State's Management of Federal Funds Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Federal COVID-19 Funds) as a High-Risk Statewide Issue in California], [August 25, 2020]

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  From the Letter: "As authorized by state law, my office presents this letter report designating the State's management of federal funds related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (federal COVID-19 funds) as a high-risk statewide issue in California. Congress enacted legislation in March and April 2020 that included funding for states to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19. We reviewed available information about this funding that California departments received, or expect to receive, and we made our determination based on our evaluation of several factors including, but not limited to, the following: [1] The significant amount of funding granted to the State. [2] The expansion of or changes to programs' eligibility requirements. [3] Program changes that could necessitate additional outreach by departments to ensure awareness of and access to available funds. [4] Past audit findings on management of federal funds by state departments that will receive or expect to receive these funds. [5] The rapid nature of the allocation and the urgent need of the funding. This letter report identifies 18 state agencies that will each be responsible for managing a portion of the federal COVID-19 funds."

  California. State Auditor (2013- )

  Howle, Elaine M.

  2020-08-25
• 'Employment Development Department': EDD's Poor Planning and Ineffective Management Left it Unprepared to Assist Californians Unemployed by COVID-19 Shutdowns

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  From the Summary: "In March 2020, government directives ordered businesses to close and residents to stay at home in response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic (pandemic). Millions of Californians were left unemployed and in critical need of assistance to replace some of the income on which they relied to pay for essentials such as housing and food. The Employment Development Department (EDD) administers the State's unemployment insurance (UI) program. The economic shutdowns in early 2020 led to historically high numbers of UI claims in a very short time (claim surge), and further shutdowns began in December 2020, raising the potential for additional spikes in unemployment. This audit reviewed EDD's response to the claim surge, its handling of the resulting backlog of unpaid claims, and the assistance it has provided to individuals through its call center."

  California. State Auditor (2013- )

  2021-01
• Next Republican Culture War Attack: 'Anti- White' COVID-19 Drug Guidance

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  From the Document: "America's hospitals are filled with unvaccinated COVID [coronavirus disease] patients, many of whom have bought the dangerous narrative peddled by anti-vaxxers and Republican politicians who failed the nation when COVID first struck and continue to fail the nation today. To deflect from their failure, the newest Republican culture war attack, coming directly from former President Donald Trump [hyperlink] and Fox News' Tucker Carlson [hyperlink], accuses Democrats and the Administration of 'anti-white racism' when it comes to the use of the limited supply of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] treatments. Make no mistake. Republicans are desperate to try to shift blame by creating a culture war where there is none. And they are trying to divide Americans even further, for their own benefit. Let's examine the facts and address this attack head on."

  Third Way

  Ahmadi, Ladan

  2022-02-01
• COVID-19: United States, China and Russia: Great Powers Worry Public Opinion

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  From the Introduction: "Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] crisis, this paper examines how citizens in seven democracies (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) view the influence and concern of the great powers of China, the United States and Russia. This proposed analysis is part of an international study entitled 'Citizens' Attitudes Under COVID-19 Pandemic', in which the Fondation pour l'innovation politique is a stakeholder. [...] This programme aims to provide an unprecedented monitoring of public opinion in the context of the Covid-19 crisis: feelings experienced, one's relationship to health safety, acceptance or weariness regarding the protective devices put in place or public health recommendations, etc. These surveys should enable, on the one hand, a better understanding of the way in which different publics adapt psychologically to the measures of social distancing and, on the other hand, a better apprehension of consent in relation to the measures put in place. All the data from the survey is available to the public in open data on data.fondapol.org [hyperlink]."

  Fondation pour l'innovation politique

  Delage, Victor

  2020-06
• Americans' Trust in Scientists, Other Groups Declines: Republicans' Confidence in Medical Scientists Down Sharply Since Early in the Coronavirus Outbreak

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  From the Document: "Americans' confidence in groups and institutions has turned downward compared with just a year ago. Trust in scientists and medical scientists, once seemingly buoyed by their central role in addressing the coronavirus outbreak, is now below pre-pandemic levels. [...] Overall, 29% of U.S. adults say they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public, down from 40% who said this in November 2020. Similarly, the share with a great deal of confidence in scientists to act in the public's best interests is down by 10 percentage points (from 39% to 29%), according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The new findings represent a shift in the recent trajectory of attitudes toward medical scientists and scientists. Public confidence in both groups had increased shortly after the start of the coronavirus outbreak, according to an April 2020 survey [hyperlink]. Current ratings of medical scientists and scientists have now fallen below where they were in January 2019, before the emergence of the coronavirus."

  Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

  Kennedy, Brian; Tyson, Alec; Funk, Cary

  2022