Tired of navigating through the CDC's mess of a website to find their actual transmission map? Now, http://CovidTransmissionMap.com will take you right there

Tired of navigating through the CDC's mess of a website to find their actual transmission map? Now, https://t.co/nrxQcB3la2 will take you right there - hope that's helpful!

— Hope (@hopebroidery) October 10, 2022

In case you're having difficulty locating the actual Community *Transmission* Map (since the CDC apparently keeps making it harder to get to on the site) here is an updated link.

In case you're having difficulty locating the actual Community *Transmission* Map (since the CDC apparently keeps making it harder to get to on the site) here is an updated link. (And yes, that's today's map shown below.)https://t.co/T6tza0y0lm pic.twitter.com/z7SvYyYtlm

— Stephanie Tait ♿️ (@StephTaitWrites) August 18, 2022

Outbreak Associated with SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant in an Elementary School — Marin County, California, May–June 2021

On May 25, 2021, the Marin County Department of Public Health (MCPH) was notified by an elementary school that on May 23, an unvaccinated teacher had reported receiving a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The teacher reported becoming symptomatic on May 19, but continued to work for 2 days before receiving a test on May 21. On occasion during this time, the teacher read aloud unmasked to the class despite school requirements to mask while indoors. Beginning May 23, additional cases of COVID-19 were reported among other staff members, students, parents, and siblings connected to the school. To characterize the outbreak, on May 26, MCPH initiated case investigation and contact tracing that included whole genome sequencing (WGS) of available specimens. A total of 27 cases were identified, including that of the teacher. During May 23–26, among the teacher’s 24 students, 22 students, all ineligible for vaccination because of age, received testing for SARS-CoV-2; 12 received positive test results. The attack rate in the two rows seated closest to the teacher’s desk was 80% (eight of 10) and was 28% (four of 14) in the three back rows (Fisher’s exact test; p = 0.036). During May 24–June 1, six of 18 students in a separate grade at the school, all also too young for vaccination, received positive SARS-CoV-2 test results. Eight additional cases were also identified, all in parents and siblings of students in these two grades. Among these additional cases, three were in persons fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC recommendations (1). Among the 27 total cases, 22 (81%) persons reported symptoms; the most frequently reported symptoms were fever (41%), cough (33%), headache (26%), and sore throat (26%). WGS of all 18 available specimens identified the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant. Vaccines are effective against the Delta variant (2), but risk of transmission remains elevated among unvaccinated persons in schools without strict adherence to prevention strategies. In addition to vaccination for eligible persons, strict adherence to nonpharmaceutical prevention strategies, including masking, routine testing, facility ventilation, and staying home when symptomatic, are important to ensure safe in-person learning in schools (3)...

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7035e2.htm?s_cid=mm7035e2_e

CDC Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in Kindergarten (K)-12 Schools Updated July 9, 2021

 

• -Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
• 
  
• -CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.
• 
  
• -Screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html

The CDC said 6 feet should still be maintained in common areas, such as school lobbies, and when masks can’t be worn, such as when eating.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines...

...— Says spacing can also be 3 feet in middle and high schools, so long as there is not a high level of spread in the community. If there is, spacing should be at least 6 feet.

The CDC said 6 feet should still be maintained in common areas, such as school lobbies, and when masks can’t be worn, such as when eating.

Also, students should be kept 6 feet apart in situations where there are a lot of people talking, cheering or singing, all of which can expel droplets containing the coronavirus. That includes chorus practice, assemblies and sports events.

Teachers and other adults should continue to stay 6 feet from one another and from students, the CDC said...

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-72584a00c039546f02eceb3715063e35?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP

@Theresa_Chapple @Epi_D_Nique and I collaborated to provide a user-friendly review of the CDC’s study on #Covid_19 spread in elementary #schools in one Georgia district. This study is important because of its focus on young children and community spread. HappyThreadreading!

 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1365121563733942274.html

@DrLeanaWen Red = @CDCgov ’s category for highest level of community #covid19 transmission. That’s most of the country. And CDC is still saying that teachers don’t need vaccinations in these situations? Mind-blowing.

Red = @CDCgov’s category for highest level of community #covid19 transmission. That’s most of the country. And CDC is still saying that teachers don’t need vaccinations in these situations? Mind-blowing. pic.twitter.com/oeeezYSSfa

— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) February 13, 2021

CDC quietly removes guidance pushing for school reopenings

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quietly removed controversial guidance from its website that pushed for schools to reopen in the fall and downplayed the transmission risks of COVID-19 to children and others.

The documents, one of which was reportedly written by political appointees outside of the CDC, stated that children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults and that children are unlikely to be major spreaders of the virus...

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/526370-cdc-quietly-removes-guidance-pushing-for-school-reopenings

NYT: Behind the White House Effort to Pressure the C.D.C. on School Openings

Documents and interviews show how senior officials sought to play down the risks of sending children back to the classroom, alarming public health experts.

WASHINGTON — Top White House officials pressured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer to play down the risk of sending children back to school, a strikingly political intervention in one of the most sensitive public health debates of the pandemic, according to documents and interviews with current and former government officials.

As part of their behind-the-scenes effort, White House officials also tried to circumvent the C.D.C. in a search for alternate data showing that the pandemic was weakening and posed little danger to children.

The documents and interviews show how the White House spent weeks trying to press public health professionals to fall in line with President Trump’s election-year agenda of pushing to reopen schools and the economy as quickly as possible...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/us/politics/white-house-cdc-coronavirus-schools.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR245M7JiTkqxekZnhcjzRj7iwRlnqfWAd_wWmMnjgSoj153swN2gB4utXg

CDC Issues Guidelines On Recess

Students spend a lot of time on academics and standardized tests, especially in the early school years. Few states require recess.

But studies show recess leads to better test scores and classroom behavior. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines on the issue.

Take note Montgomery County Board of Education of statement that "recess should not be withheld as punishment."

http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/02/28/cdc-recess-guidelines