Biden to Outline ‘6-Step Plan’ to Curb COVID-19 Delta Variant: White House

President Joe Biden will outline a “six-step plan” to curb the COVID-19 Delta variant and increase U.S. vaccinations, said a White House spokesperson on Tuesday.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One that he will unveil the plan that will span “the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control.” She did not elaborate on the details.

When asked about whether any mandates would be implemented, Psaki said the White House would offer more details in the coming days but noted that the federal government lacks the authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccines.

“We need to continue to take more steps to make sure school districts are prepared and make sure communities across the country are prepared,” Psaki added. “So, again, the President will lay out a six-step plan on Thursday. We’ll be finalizing that over the coming days, and we’ll have more preview as we get closer.”

Also in the news conference, Psaki was pressed about the possibility of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, possibly similar to those implemented by private businesses or countries like Israel, France, and Italy. She pointed to private firms mandating that employees get vaccinated “in different capacities” added that “we need to continue to take more steps to make sure school districts are prepared and make sure communities across the country are prepared.”

Biden, who scheduled to meet with his COVID-19 advisors on Wednesday, delivered a speech about six months ago saying the United States has “made real progress” against the virus.

Since that date, about 142 million Americans have received COVID-19 vaccines and about 950,000 people are getting vaccinated each day, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Data provided by the CDC’s COVID-19 tracker suggests that the death rate from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease, may be on the decline or has hit a plateau.

After posting a seven-day average high of 1,162 deaths on Sept. 4, the seven-day average declined to 962, while the seven-day moving average for cases dropped to 127,000. A previous COVID-19 peak period that the United States experienced in mid-January 2021 saw far higher numbers of people die from the virus.

Meanwhile, Biden’s speech may reference a recent announcement from the heads of several federal health agencies that COVID-19 booster shots will be available by Sept. 20. That deadline, however, is contingent on approval by the Food and Drug Administration, which recently saw two of its top vaccine regulation officials announce that they would step down in the coming weeks.

One of the officials, White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci, predicted that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would be approved first, then Moderna’s vaccine. It’s not clear if there will be boosters for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses different technology than the other two.

I would go along with that statement last year.

but schools are shutting down due to Covid cases right now.

School closings tracker: Where districts are shutting down again due to COVID-19 outbreaks Administrators are seeing much more in-school transmission this year By: Matt Zalaznick | September 7, 2021
https://districtadministration.com/school-closings-tracker-where-covid-shut-down-schools-again/

One big difference administrators are seeing during the latest COVID surge is a significant increase of in-school transmission of COVID, particularly where districts have reopened without masking or social distancing. In-school transmission rates were low to non-existent during 2020-21 when most schools were taken aggressive safety precautions.

In some places, schools are shifting back to online and remote learning. Elsewhere, such as in Texas, districts have shut down completely because schools are not required to make up days missed due to COVID.

The biggest impacts, so far, have been in the Deep South. Here’s an overview of current COVID school and district closures:

ALABAMA: Montgomery Public Schools closed seven buildings, including a high school and several middles schools, until mid-Sepetember.

Five out of 29 schools in the Cullman County district have shifted to remote learning with more than one-third of students absent due to positive COVID tests or quarantines after having been a close contact. Students are expected to return on Sept. 10. Masks will be required in schools when absences reach 15%,

CALIFORNIA: Most students in the Lassen Union High School District will shift to distance learning until Sept. 13.

Red Bluff Union Elementary School District in Northern California has closed all four of its schools until Sept. 13 due to rising numbers of quarantines.

GEORGIA: Griffin-Spalding County School System closed all of its buildings until at least Sept. 13 after a third transportation employee died of COVID in two weeks.

The Richmond County School System will close on Sept. 8 and 9 “to prioritize cleaning, disinfecting, and replenishing COVID-19 mitigation supplies,” the district announced on Facebook.

Burke County Public Schools, which reported 40 new student cases of COVID, has also shut down for the next two weeks.

Ben Hill County Schools will be virtual this week due to “a large increase in the number of students that are either positive or being quarantined for COVID-19 at all schools,” Superintendent J. Shawn Haralson said in a letter to the community.

IDAHO: Payette High School in Payette Public Schools is closed until Sept. 13.

INDIANA: MSD of Shakamak is closed until Sept. 14 due to multiple COVID exposures, the district announced on Facebook.

KENTUCKY: Harrison County Schools and Ashland Independent Schools are both closed until Sept. 13 due to rising case numbers.

MASSACHUSETTS: Farmington River Elementary School, a one-school district in western Massachusetts, closed Sept. 3 after students and staff tested positive, and administrators awaited results of other tests, MassLive.com reported.

MONTANA: Chester-Joplin-Inverness Public Schools delayed the first day of school from Aug. 26 to Aug. 31 after a teacher tested positive at a training day, KXLF.com reported.

NORTH CAROLINA: Iredell-Statesville Schools has closed five of its schools until Sept. 10.

OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Public Schools closed a high school/middle school on building on Sept. 7 due to staff absences.

OREGON: A handful of districts have delayed the first day of school due to surging COVID cases. The Nestucca Valley School District will start the school year in “comprehensive distance learning.”

Neah Kah Nie School District #56 moved the first day of school from Sept. 7 to Sept. 13.

Clatskanie, Alsea and Culver school districts have also delayed the start of school, KOIN.com reported.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Laurens County School District 55 is moving three schools to remote learning from Sept. 3 to Sept. 9, due to positive COVID cases and quarantines.

TENNESSEE: The Grundy County School District is closed until Sept. 13 due to increased COVID cases in the community.

Marion County Schools are shut down until Sept. 13 “for intensive cleaning and COVID-19 numbers,” the district announced. Sumner County Schools are also closed until Sept. 13.

Union County Public Schools will be closed until Sept. 10.

TEXAS: Burnet Consolidated ISD is closed until Sept. 9: “COVID-19 cases have continued to spike in Burnet county. In addition to low student attendance rates at all campuses, we are experiencing a large number of staff absences,” the district said on its website. “Our hope is that by being intentional with these two days, we can make plans to re-open with adequate student supervision across all campuses.”

VIRGINIA: Amherst County Public Schools has shut down until Sept. 13 due to a COVID outbreak. Administrators will use inclement weather days. so there will be no remote instruction.

WEST VIRGINIA: Five schools in the Raleigh County School District are closed until Sept. 8 due to COVID outbreaks and quarantines, The Register-Herald reported.

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