Understanding the Collaborative Learning Implementation Cycle (CLIC) for a Teacher Learning to Promote Computationally Rich Communication in a Remote STEM Classroom

Promoting productive student talk and computational collaboration in small group work is challenging, especially during COVID-19 induced remote learning. This paper describes a case study of one middle school teacher's participation in a professional learning community and implementations of a physical computing unit where students created data displays to collect and analyze environmental data. The focal teacher implemented the unit twice with astonishingly better results in the second iteration. We discuss lessons from how she participated in a professional learning cycle that used reflection, adaptive support and co-designed tools that helped achieve her vision for student collaboration. © 2022 International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS). All rights reserved.

Severe COVID-19 outcomes after full vaccination of primary schedule and initial boosters: pooled analysis of national prospective cohort studies of 30 million individuals in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

BACKGROUND: Current UK vaccination policy is to offer future COVID-19 booster doses to individuals at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, but it is still uncertain which groups of the population could benefit most. In response to an urgent request from the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, we aimed to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes (ie, COVID-19-related hospitalisation or death) in individuals who had completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination schedule and had received the first booster vaccine. METHODS: We constructed prospective cohorts across all four UK nations through linkages of primary care, RT-PCR testing, vaccination, hospitalisation, and mortality data on 30 million people. We included individuals who received primary vaccine doses of BNT162b2 (tozinameran; Pfizer-BioNTech) or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) vaccines in our initial analyses. We then restricted analyses to those given a BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 (elasomeran; Moderna) booster and had a severe COVID-19 outcome between Dec 20, 2021, and Feb 28, 2022 (when the omicron (B.1.1.529) variant was dominant). We fitted time-dependent Poisson regression models and calculated adjusted rate ratios (aRRs) and 95% CIs for the associations between risk factors and COVID-19-related hospitalisation or death. We adjusted for a range of potential covariates, including age, sex, comorbidities, and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Stratified analyses were conducted by vaccine type. We then did pooled analyses across UK nations using fixed-effect meta-analyses. FINDINGS: Between Dec 8, 2020, and Feb 28, 2022, 16 208 600 individuals completed their primary vaccine schedule and 13 836 390 individuals received a booster dose. Between Dec 20, 2021, and Feb 28, 2022, 59 510 (0·4%) of the primary vaccine group and 26 100 (0·2%) of those who received their booster had severe COVID-19 outcomes. The risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes reduced after receiving the booster (rate change: 8·8 events per 1000 person-years to 7·6 events per 1000 person-years). Older adults (≥80 years vs 18-49 years; aRR 3·60 [95% CI 3·45-3·75]), those with comorbidities (≥5 comorbidities vs none; 9·51 [9·07-9·97]), being male (male vs female; 1·23 [1·20-1·26]), and those with certain underlying health conditions-in particular, individuals receiving immunosuppressants (yes vs no; 5·80 [5·53-6·09])-and those with chronic kidney disease (stage 5 vs no; 3·71 [2·90-4·74]) remained at high risk despite the initial booster. Individuals with a history of COVID-19 infection were at reduced risk (infected ≥9 months before booster dose vs no previous infection; aRR 0·41 [95% CI 0·29-0·58]). INTERPRETATION: Older people, those with multimorbidity, and those with specific underlying health conditions remain at increased risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation and death after the initial vaccine booster and should, therefore, be prioritised for additional boosters, including novel optimised versions, and the increasing array of COVID-19 therapeutics. FUNDING: National Core Studies-Immunity, UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council), Health Data Research UK, the Scottish Government, and the University of Edinburgh.

Establishing a Post-Acute Covid-19 AHP Led Rehabilitation Clinic

Aim We assessed the effectiveness of an AHP-led rehabilitation service for patients with Covid-19 respiratory failure post-discharge from Cavan Hospital. Methods Of the 140 patients discharged from Cavan hospital with Covid-19, from March to June 2020, 3.6% required MV or HFNC. Using BTS guidelines a pathway was established. Patients underwent a 6 week post discharge telephone assessment. Of the 12 eligible patients only four agreed to participate. Assessments included mMRC dyspnoea score, Nijmegen questionnaire and HADS score. Patients completed an 8 week program including aerobic and endurance training with interval training at 10 stations. Focussed strength exercise was added as required. Results All three patients who completed the program had a real (> 20%) improvement in 6MWT, mMRCC dyspnoea score (1.0) and HADS. No change was seen in O2 saturation. All patients improved on IMSTS (68%, 11% and 41%). Conclusion An AHP led clinic is a safe and cost effective means of providing pulmonary rehabilitation for patients following Covid-19 pneumonitis.

Financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cystic fibrosis care: lessons for the future.

BACKGROUND: Chronic care delivery models faced unprecedented financial pressures, with a reduction of in-person visits and adoption of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand the reported financial impact of pandemic-related changes to the cystic fibrosis (CF) care model. METHODS: The U.S. CF Foundation State of Care surveys fielded in Summer 2020 (SoC1) and Spring 2021 (SoC2) included questions for CF programs on the impact of pandemic-related restrictions on overall finances, staffing, licensure, and reimbursement of telehealth services. Descriptive analyses were conducted based on program type. RESULTS: Among the 286 respondents (128 pediatric, 118 adult, 40 affiliate), the majority (62%) reported a detrimental financial impact to their CF care program in SoC1, though fewer (42%) reported detrimental impacts in SoC2. The most common reported impacts in SoC1 were redeployment of clinical staff (68%), furloughs (52%), hiring freezes (51%), decreases in salaries (34%), or layoffs (10%). Reports of lower reimbursement for telehealth increased from 30% to 40% from SoC1 to SoC2. Projecting towards the future, only a minority (17%) of program directors in SoC2 felt that financial support would remain below pre-pandemic levels. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in financial strain on the CF care model, including challenges with reimbursement for telehealth services and reductions in staffing due to institutional changes. Planning for the future of CF care model needs to address these short-term impacts, particularly to ensure a lack of interruption in high-quality multi-disciplinary care.

Challenges and Unexpected Affordances of Physical Computing Going Remote

Engaging in physical computing activities involving both hardware and software provides a hands-on introduction to computer science. The move to remote learning for primary and secondary schools during the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19 made implementing physical computing activities especially challenging. However, it is important that these activities are not simply eliminated from the curriculum. This paper explores how a unit centered around students investigating how programmable sensors that can support data-driven scientific inquiry was collaboratively adapted for remote instruction. A case study of one teacher's experience implementing the unit with a group of middle school students (ages 11 to 14) in her STEM elective class examines how her students could still engage in computational thinking practices around data and programming. The discussion includes both the challenges and unexpected affordances of engaging in physical computing activities remotely that emerged from her implementation. © 2021 ACM.

Fast-Tracking a COVID-19 biospecimen resource in response to the pandemic

Background: Healthcare Workers (HCWs) are at particular risk for COVID-19 since they are in frequent and direct contact with known and suspected COVID-19-positive patients. Appropriate measures and proper PPE are being used in healthcare facilities worldwide to prevent COVID-19 exposure to HCWs however data from around the world suggest that HCWs are infected at a higher rate than the general population. Monitoring possible exposures of HCWs through changes in seroprevalence over time is critical to understanding more of the spread of the virus and how to better support HCWs during the pandemic. In addition, creating a COVID-19 biorepository would be a critical tool in facilitation of much-needed COVID-related research. Methods: To fast-track the COVID-19 biorepository, participants were limited to HCWs from six hospitals and care facilities in Maricopa County, AZ, and were active members of the healthcare or medical staff during the pandemic at the time of enrollment. Data collection included demographics data and self-reported medical histories and symptoms. To encourage HCW participation and facilitate enrollment, an online consent was created so that HCWs could consent and complete the Perceived Wellness Surveys. After consent, participants were routed for diagnostic testing utilizing the Abbott ARCHITECT SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay and had two tubes of blood collected for biobanking, storing up to 5 aliquots each of serum and plasma. For every participant, sample and survey collections would occur every three months for a one year period. Results: Biospecimen collection for biobanking began in June 2020 and to date, more than 24,000 plasma and serum aliquots from over 1200 participants have been processed and stored in the Biobank Core Facility (BCF). The participants range from 20 to 60+ years of age and represent a diverse racial/ethnicity population. At baseline, the positivity rate for COVID-19 exposure from this cohort was approximately 9.4% and 3 months later was approximately 11.5%. Conclusions: During COVID-19, our BCF serves as a valuable resource to our facility's response to the pandemic by providing an infrastructure for specimen collection as well as specimen storage/dispersal to COVID-related research. Biobanked specimens are currently supporting several COVID research initiatives ranging from a pilot study looking at antigen specific cellular immune responses to another project focused on developing high sensitivity/high specificity serological assays.