Florida in August changed its rules for determining whether someone died of COVID-19, moving that responsibility from public medical examiners to the doctors who treated the patients. The child deaths come as Florida finally sees an easing in the surge of new infections, which ravaged the state over the summer. Woolfs work suggests that over the decades, state policy decisions on health issues such as Medicaid, gun legislation, tobacco taxes, and, indeed, vaccines have likely had a stronger impact on state health trajectories than other factors. Broward County, along with Miami-Dade County, are two of the top six largest school districts in the country. Garcia. The dark winter is here and Americans see no end. Polk County School Board member Lynn Wilson called it "a terrible tragedy" in an interview with WESH2 News. Ron DeSantis, who have banned them from requiring. For Isabel Alvarado Vasquez, a second grade teacher in San Antonio, Texas, the loss has hit close to home. Three teachers from Florida's Broward County died from COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday. She was like her grandmother. 10 myths told by COVID experts and now debunked Despite the jump in deaths, the rate of kids testing positive for Covid-19 for the first time is about the same as last winter before the current Delta surge. Party leaders are unquestionably complicit in the premature deaths of their own supporters. Nicole Hollis was a third-grade teacher at River City Science Academy Mandarin when she died from COVID-19 Aug. 14, according to her family. Each classroom is equipped with an air purifier as well. He also coached middle school soccer and football. But on the whole, Democratic leaders have mostly not promoted ideas or enforced policies around COVID that actively chip away at life expectancy. Unfortunately, some of these children will not survive, Rathore said. At Least 4 Teachers Have Died of COVID-19 Since Start of School Year It would have also spared many children myocarditis. The anti-science messaging that fuels such a divide is popular with Republican leaders because it plays so well with their constituents. In Florida, teacher vacancies this year increased by more than 67% compared with August 2020, . At least six . She was a science and social studies teacher at Wacona Elementary in Waycross. Nearly 3,500 sea lions in Peru have recently died of H5N1 avian influenza, five times as many as previously reported, the government announced Thursday amid growing concern about the virus. Shortly before he died, Hubbard shared that he had recently tested positive for the virus on social media. So long as America remains locked in a poisonous partisan battle in which science is wrongly dismissed as being associated with the left, the death toll will only rise. CNN accused of 'fear porn' for hyping story of Broward County teachers Coach Shell impacted many students both on and off the field and had an energy that was unmatched. One school district in Florida has reported 17 employee deaths from COVID-19 since August as schools continue to battle the state and Gov. While both say they will continue insisting on a mask mandate, they report that social distancing rules will be relaxed to allow as many students as possible to come back to classrooms. At least 15 teachers, staff from the Jacksonville area have died of COVID-19 since July. They were administrators and maintenance workers. Even when vaccines came around, these differences continued, Mauricio Santillana, an epidemiology expert at Northeastern University and a co-author of the study, told me. The mask mandate was a violation of an order signed by Florida Gov. The state now has seen 17 deaths, and American Academy of Pediatrics Florida President Lisa Gwynn said many of them may have had underlying medical conditions when they became infected. Many Republicansin fact, most of themhave gotten their first two shots. Just as Florida has historically served as a testing ground for the gutting of public education, so too is it serving as a testing ground for the homicidal back-to-work and back-to-school policies of the Republicans and Democrats, who are both promoting a herd immunity policy among Florida educators, parents, students and the broader working class. In fact, recent studies have concluded that in-person classes arent significantly contributing to coronavirus spread an in-depth look at two US schools released last week found that there was no evidence of student-to-teacher or teacher-to-student transmission when proper precautions were taken. The hospitals chief of pediatric critical care, Michael Gayle, said most of those patients also suffered from underlying medical conditions such as obesity. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images, has withheld funding from two school districts. The. When decisions are made about the lives of teachers, teachers need to be involved in those discussions, he said. Watch on. Fusco said she is currently "torn" over talks of mandating vaccinations, although she said she may change her mind once the Food & Drug Administration fully authorizes the vaccines. None of them were vaccinated, Fusco said. But the deaths since July 30 also occurred as hundreds of thousands of kids in Florida began returning to classrooms and amid the ongoing fight between DeSantis and school districts over student mask mandates. DeSantis administration did not answer questions about the increase in deaths. Misinformation #10: One in five people get long COVID The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that 20% of COVID infections can . Theres also no evidence to suggest more teachers are dying than people in other professions. By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. - Tampa. More than 15 Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia teachers and staff members have died of COVID-19 since July, Action News Jax has learned. Overall, excess deaths represent a small share of deaths. She died on Aug. 29, according to the FEA. A A MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. / NBC6 Fifteen staffers of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District have died from COVID-19 in the past 10 days, officials said. Why are we so insignificant?. In the same time period, the political gap in death rates increased sixfold. The deaths also pose a political threat to Gov. The McCall family was not vaccinated, citing fear of the vaccine. Six members of a church in Florida, all of whom were unvaccinated, died of Covid-19 in less than two . A student arrives for the first day of classes on Aug. 23 at a public school in Miami Lakes, Fla. But the wildly disproportionate presence of Republicans among the unvaccinated reveals an ugly and counterintuitive aspect of the GOP campaign against vaccination: At every turn, top figures in the party have directly endangered their own constituents. In Florida, 53 officers have died from COVID-19. The district called each death "a devastating blow" to the community in a statement obtained by NBC News. 3 times as many people died from COVID in August than July - USA TODAY Biden rolls out his plan to reopen schools. She falsely claimed that there were "thousands of dead voters in Georgia," though Georgia elections officials have found only four such cases in the 2020 election to date and Trump allies . It's just a covering.". Teachers in at least five states have died with coronavirus since fall Thank you for all the prayers! More recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called for a grand jury to investigate the safety of COVID vaccines. Less than a week before schools are set to reopen in Florida's Broward County, local union officials say three educators have died of complications from the coronavirus. (AP) Teachers in at least three states have died after bouts with the . He was 51 years old. Samantha Mathers is a digital reporter and content creator for Action News Jax. The number of student and teacher infections and deaths will almost certainly continue to increase. Polk County Public Schools say a dozen employees have died from the coronavirus since school began on Aug. 10, according to multiple outlets. Its us, the teachers and staff trying to stay alive, versus them, the board members who refuse to acknowledge what were going through and the board members who refuse to work in the office, she said. She had previously taught at Nease High School, working with special needs students. So far, 433 Polk County school employees and 3,434 students have tested positive for COVID since the school year began, according to the district's coronavirus dashboard. And then there are parents who fear that remote learning is causing children to fall behind or who cannot afford other child care arrangements during the day. More teachers plan to quit as Covid stress overwhelms educators - CNBC AshLee DeMarinis, 34, who taught special education at a middle school in Potosi, Missouri, died Sunday after three weeks on a ventilator; she had expressed fear about in-person teaching amid. 'The end of the beginning.' She loved going to church and spending time with her five sons, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Still, educators there are finding ways to make their voices heard. More Police in Florida Have Died from COVID Than Gunfire He was employed with the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office, serving most recently as the Youth Resource Deputy at St. Augustine High School. Our entire school community is deeply saddened by this unexpected loss, and we send our condolences to his family.. The Republican Party is unquestionably complicit in the premature deaths of many of its own supporters, a phenomenon that may be without precedent in the history of both American democracy and virology. Fusco said 48-year-old Pinewood Elementary teacher and union steward Janice Wright, 49-year-old Dillard Elementary teacher Katina Jones and 49-year-old teaching assistant Yolonda Hudson-Williams, also of Dillard Elementary, were the educators who lost their lives to COVID-19 this past week. Schools in Florida are currently required to allow families the option to opt out of mask requirements, per DeSantis, and individual school districts have been battling the state over their right to enact such mandates in classrooms. As you can see above, 14,265 people died within 21 days of having the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 4,388 people died within 21 days of having the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine whose death allegedly involved Covid-19. Please hug your loved ones tight today.. Florida educators and school staff are eligible to get the vaccine, but child vaccines for COVID-19 are still in development and students under 16 will not be able to get any vaccines at this time. Rivers was a proud and devoted educator for Duval County Public Schools for over 15 years on multiple campuses as a teacher, Dean of Students, Reading Interventionist and finally as Assistant Principal, according to his obituary. The figure represents an anecdotal tally of the number of COVID-related deaths, United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats told CNN, as the district, the fourth-largest in . What made her life any less than any of these huge companies that are having their employees work from home? Vasquez asked. Since October 5, when Miami-Dade reopened, 5,198 students and 2,084 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Based on Public Health Scotland data seen in the following chart it would seem the top pre-existing condition of those whove died with a positive test result for Covid-19 has been dementia, followed by heart disease and chronic respiratory disease. Follow-up research published in The Lancet Regional HealthAmericas in October looked at deaths from April 2021 to March 2022 and found a 26 percent higher death rate in areas where voters leaned Republican. Why nobody knows exactly how many Texas teachers have died of COVID-19 Among new persons tested, more than 21 percent were found positive for the virus. In the excess death study, researchers dealt only with rates of excess death, not actual death-toll numbers. The Biden administrations COVID blunders are no doubt to blame for some of the nations deaths. Discovery Company. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for law enforcement in 2021. The University of California, Davis's teacher education program staved off a planned suspension due only to widespread outcry. On the scale of national registration for both parties, Wallace said, were talking about relatively small numbers and differences in deaths when you look at excess-death rates alone. This Weekend, per HHS Data, Florida Reports Rise in COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Children, Florida Gov. "I don't think that we should have that position of mandating it right now especially not me, the union president of 18,000 bargaining unit members," she said. Amanda Winkle is the digital content manager for Action News Jax. Carvalho said that while the district is blocked by law from requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or even asking whether they are vaccinated, he is urging people to get the shot. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images). On top of all that, theyre seeing colleagues getting sick and even dying of Covid-19 and worry they or their loved ones could be next. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. istock. Official Government reports confirming eight times more people died due to Covid-19 vaccination within six months of the vaccine rollout than had died of Covid-19 within eighteen months are extremely worrying and evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines currently on offer should have been withdrawn from public use nearly 2 years ago. The school system which is the fourth-largest district in the country will try to increase the vaccination rate among staffers by offering $275 to any employee who shows proof of vaccination. According to official NHS data which can be viewedhere, from March 2020 up to the 25th of August 2021; a period of 18 months, 90,147 Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test have been recorded in England hospitals. Fourteen of the 15 states with the lowest vaccination rates voted for Donald Trump in 2020. The American Federation of Teachers said 210 of its members have died of the virus. The culture around social distancing and other safety protocols seemed to ease up over time, with no one strictly enforcing the rules, he said. Philadelphias plan to return on February 22 could also face uncertainty if the teachers union isnt on board. The childhood fatalities have left pediatric experts deeply concerned about how the virus will affect youngsters in the months ahead as children interact in classrooms, even as the overall number of infections and hospitalizations in the state appears to be cresting. COVID They were teachers and coaches. In districts around the country, several teachers who spoke to CNN reported being at their wits end: constantly being asked to do more with less while feeling like their anxieties arent being heard. CDC says roughly 4,100 people have been hospitalized or died with Covid "I think because they scream louder, [he thinks] there must be more of them than the constituents that are taking this virus really [seriously] and want to be safe and secure.". While most, but not all, of the children who have died in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) had an underlying health condition such as obesity or were immunocompromised, most of the patients we have treated for MIS-C were previously healthy, Gayle said in an interview. At least 15 teachers, staff from the Jacksonville area have died of COVID-19 since July. At least 15 teachers, staff from Jacksonville area have died of COVID Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. Education Sep 9, 2020 5:30 PM EST. Teacher education programs continue to suffer 'death by a thousand cuts' Unfortunately, this trend shows no signs of breaking. hide caption. You are risking your life every day going to work, she said. So once her unpaid medical leave expires, Gotreaux plans to leave her job and possibly the profession. Heaven gained an all-star. One teacher, 67, and her school cafeteria manager daughter, 43, died at the same hospital just days apart. A teachers union confirmed on Wednesday that three of the 15 deaths were educators. 'Exhausted and underpaid': teachers across the US are leaving their But, in challenging situations such as these, he said he would appreciate teachers being consulted. On top of that, teachers have experienced burnout over the last year when combining the stress of the pandemic, teaching both online and in-person classes and an increasing workload. But to understand why Republicans have died at higher rates, you cant look at vaccine status alone. One person had direct contact with students, he said. Cases of COVID-19, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, have spread quickly through schools. For Hare, having three educators die in a month is a clear indication that the school district should be fully virtual for the time being. When youre responsible for the education of 5.4 million children across the state, there are sometimes going to be decisions that not everyones happy with.. But after vaccines became available, that gap widened dramatically to 10.4 percentage points, again with a higher Republican excess-death rate.