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Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing?

October 14, 2020

The number of daily coronavirus tests being conducted in the United States is 65 percent of the level considered necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus, as many states struggle to increase testing.

states* meet the testing target

states are near the target

states are far below the target

*Includes 9 states and Washington, D.C. States within 20 percent of the testing target are considered “near” the target.

An average of 962,000 tests per day were performed over the past week, according to data collected by the Covid Tracking Project, well below the current nationwide target of 1.5 million daily tests. The target, which is based on a methodology developed by researchers at the Harvard Global Health Institute, is different for each state and varies over time as infection rates change.

The figures for some states, marked with an asterisk (*) below, indicate one test reported for each individual tested, even if that person is tested more than once. The figures for the other states indicate the total number of specimens tested, including when an individual is tested more than once, which can lead to higher reported test numbers and lower positivity rates. For states that report both individuals and specimens tested, the table below will eventually be updated to indicate specimens tested, as that is the more common metric reported by states.

How each state’s current testing measures up

Average daily testing and hospitalizations in the last two weeks

	Daily tests per 100,000 Daily tests per 100k	Percentage of testing target Percentage of target	Positive test rate Positive rate	Hospitalized per 100,000 Hospital per 100k
United States U.S.			5%
Iowa* Iowa			18%
Idaho Idaho			23%
Wisconsin* Wis.			20%
South Dakota* S.D.			23%
Wyoming* Wyo.			19%
Nevada* Nev.			15%
Kansas* Kan.			16%
Indiana* Ind.			14%
Nebraska* Neb.			13%
Alabama Ala.			13%
Florida* Fla.			11%
Montana Mont.			11%
Mississippi Miss.			11%
Oklahoma Okla.			8%
North Dakota N.D.			8%
Utah* Utah			15%
Arizona* Ariz.			7%
Delaware* Del.			6%
Missouri Mo.			7%
Arkansas Ark.			7%
North Carolina N.C.			6%
Tennessee Tenn.			7%
Oregon* Ore.			6%
Pennsylvania* Pa.			8%
Maryland Md.			6%
Georgia Ga.			6%
Texas Texas			7%
South Carolina S.C.			5%
Kentucky Ky.			5%
Virginia Va.			5%
Minnesota Minn.			5%
New Mexico N.M.			4%
Alaska Alaska			4%
Illinois

… Read More →

Pfizer to start testing its Covid-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12

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It will be the first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States.

A team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital will begin vaccinating teenagers aged 16 and 17 this week, and will move to enroll 12-to 15-year-olds later, said Dr. Robert Frenck, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the hospital.

The company confirmed on its website it has approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to enroll children as young as 12 in its trial.

“We really think a vaccine for adolescents and children is going to be critical for getting Covid under control,” Frenck told CNN in a telephone interview.

“I think one of the things that is important to remember is that although the death rate for children with Covid is lower than in older adults, it’s not zero,” he saId, noting that more than half a million children have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the US. “It is not a nonexistent infection in children.”

Children can develop serious illness and also die from coronavirus and there is no way to predict which ones will, he said. They also can spread it to other, more vulnerable people, including parents, grandparents, healthcare workers and others. And children can develop a rare but serious side-effect from coronavirus infection called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C.

Kids struggle with Covid-19 and its months of aftermath

Frenck also believes more children have been infected with coronavirus than the official data show. “I think we are probably under detecting the number of kids that are infected because they are not getting sick enough to where a parent says they need to go to a doctor,” he said.

“Most of the time in kids, you have a young kid at home and they have a runny nose, they have a cough — you are not going to bring them to a doctor,” he added.

“And most of the time, what a coronavirus causes is a cold.”

Plus, the FDA has asked the companies working to make a coronavirus vaccine to test them in diverse groups — including in people usually missed in drug and vaccine trials, such as the elderly, Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans.

New ads encourage minorities to roll up their sleeves and participate in coronavirus vaccine trials

Pfizer, one of four companies to have vaccines in advanced, Phase 3 clinical trials in the US, says it has enrolled close to 38,000 volunteers in its trial. More than 31,000 of them have received the second of two shots.

Frenck said more than 90 people have responded to an ad looking for volunteers to sign up teens for the trial.

Pfizer developed its two-dose coronavirus vaccine with Germany’s BioNtech. It uses pieces of viral genetic material to induce immunity to the coronavirus.

“If regulatory approval or authorization is obtained, the companies expect to manufacture globally up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and potentially 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021,” the company said on its website.

Source Article …

Virginia governor critical of Trump’s coronavirus response in first appearance since testing positive

October 13, 2020

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About 65 staff members who had close contact with the Northams were told to self-isolate for two weeks. Northam said none tested positive, which he called “a testament” to the value of wearing masks.

He noted that masks protected several staff members who could not physically distance from him before he tested positive, including a press secretary, photographer and security detail who traveled in an SUV and airplane with Northam.

He contrasted that with the largely mask-free Rose Garden ceremony last month that Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, has called a superspreader event. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and several others subsequently tested positive for the virus.

“No masks, no social distancing — and look at the number of people that tested positive,” Northam said Tuesday, referring to the White House event. “We talk about science, it doesn’t get any clearer than that … I would remind every Virginian: Masks are scientifically proven to reduce the spread of this disease, plain and simple.”

Northam, a former Army doctor and pediatrician, said he and his wife’s symptoms were mild. He warned Virginians not to let down their guard, particularly as cooler fall temperatures and shrinking daylight hours make outdoor socializing less appealing.

The governor said he is unlikely to ease pandemic-related restrictions in the near term. He acknowledged pressure to return to in-person education at public schools, but urged continued caution.

“Numbers are going up in a number of states across this country, so we’re not out of the woods,” he said. “We’re nowhere close to being out of the woods.”

The greater Washington region on Tuesday reported 1,763 additional coronavirus cases and 20 new deaths. Virginia added 1,235 cases and 11 deaths, Maryland added 482 cases and nine deaths, and the District added 46 cases and no deaths.

Virginia’s daily caseload was above its rolling seven-day average, lifting that number to 1,089 — the state’s highest daily average since Aug. 13. The seven-day average in Northern Virginia rose Tuesday to 264 cases, a four-month high in the region.

Daily caseloads Tuesday in Maryland and the District were below their rolling seven-day averages. It’s the third consecutive day that both jurisdictions reported new infections at or below their recent average amid an uptick that began earlier this month.

The recent caseload rise across the region has coincided with an outbreak at the White House, although local health officials have said it’s unclear whether there’s a connection.

Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.

Source Article …

Physical Fitness Testing (PFT) – Testing (CA Dept of Education)

April 4, 2020

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PFT Administration

PFT Coordinator Resources

PFT Fact Sheet

(PDF)

Answers questions about the what, why, who, how, and when for the PFT.

PFT LEA Coordinator Checklist (PDF)

DataQuest PFT Summary Results & District Reports

June 2019 Appropriate Uses and Data Privacy Letter

Provides information regarding appropriate uses and data privacy for the California Physical Fitness Test.

2019–20 California Physical Fitness Test—Back to School Message
Provides the primary goal of the PFT, appropriate uses of PFT results, how to prepare students for the PFT, and reminding local educational agencies to review their confidentiality practices.

PFT Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Provides brief responses to the most frequently asked questions.

PFT Resources (PDF)

Resources for local educational agencies, including contacts, for the California Department of Education and FITNESSGRAM^®.

PFT Coordinator Manual

(PDF)

The PFT Coordinator Manual provides information and resources needed by PFT Coordinators to prepare for and carry out the spring administration of the PFT. The document provides background information and directions for administering the PFT as well as information related to the collection and reporting of test results to the state PFT contractor, San Joaquin County Office of Education.

PFT Training

Materials offered on this web page includes training modules to assist PFT coordinators with the submission and correction of PFT data and video clips of the FITNESSGRAM^® tests using California’s testing protocol (i.e., employee of the district administering and scoring the tests).

PFT Resources for Test Administrators

PFT Reference Guide

(PDF)

This guide is designed to assist staff in becoming familiar with the California PFT. It includes detailed descriptions of the fitness areas, the data collection requirements, most of the equations used in scoring, the performance standards, and suggestions for facilitating the administration of the different test options.

FITNESSGRAM^® Fitness Areas, Test Options, and Equipment
(PDF)

Charts that show the test options available for each fitness area and the equipment required for each test.

FITNESSGRAM^® Healthy Fitness Zone Performance Standards (HFZ)

Standards established by The Cooper Institute that represent levels of fitness that offer some degree of protection against diseases that can result from sedentary living. These standards are organized by gender and age.

FITNESSGRAM® PACER Look-Up and Goals Setting Table

(PDF)

This table provides the minimum number of 20-meter (20m) laps that students need to achieve the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for the PACER. Results or the PACER test are still reported as VO₂Max.

Matrix Two: Test Variations/Accessibility Resources

Test variations available for students requiring PFT accommodation.

PFT BMI and VO₂Max Calculator with Healthy Fitness Zones® (XLS; 2MB)

An Excel spreadsheet that provides Aerobic Capacity Fitness Areas and Body Mass Index (BMI) Healthy Fitness Zones® and calculates BMI and VO₂Max.

FITNESSGRAM^®Reference Guide

The FITNESSGRAM^® Reference Guide is intended to provide answers to some common questions associated with use and interpretation

… Read More →

sendai-cafe

Tag: Testing

Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing?

How each state’s current testing measures up

Average daily testing and hospitalizations in the last two weeks

Pfizer to start testing its Covid-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12

Virginia governor critical of Trump’s coronavirus response in first appearance since testing positive

Physical Fitness Testing (PFT) – Testing (CA Dept of Education)

PFT Administration

PFT Coordinator Resources

PFT Resources for Test Administrators

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