The Value-Based Price for a Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccine in the United Kingdom

Objectives: The United Kingdom (UK) implemented an autumn 2022 booster programme that allowed those at higher risk from COVID-19, including those >= 50 years, to receive a booster to increase protection against infection and subsequent severe outcomes. As the UK transitions out of the pandemic, future booster campaigns may be required to maintain protection against such outcomes. The objective of this analysis was to estimate the value-based price (VBP) for a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine used in a future autumn 2023 campaign in the UK to protect people aged >= 50 years. Method(s): A Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model was used to predict infections across a 1-year time horizon starting September 2023 with and without an autumn booster campaign. Initial effectiveness was predicted to be 89% and 97% against infection and hospitalization respectively based on BA.4/BA.5 antibody titers and correlates of protection. A monthly decline in protection of 1.4% and 4.8%, respectively, was assumed based on monovalent vaccine data. A decision tree was used to predict the quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) lost and costs associated with infections. Result(s): Considering a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of 20,000/QALY, the VBP associated with an autumn 2023 booster campaign is 343/dose. Considering a WTP threshold of 30,000, the VBP increases to 476. In sensitivity analyses, excluding the post-infection costs (e.g., long COVID), reduces the VBP by 11%. Varying the hospitalization rates by +/-25% changes the VBP by +/- 6%. Varying hospitalization unit costs only impacts the VBP by 1%. Doubling the rate of waning for booster effectiveness increases the VBP by 54% because the effectiveness provided from past campaigns falls faster and an autumn 2023 booster becomes more valuable. Conclusion(s): While the trajectory of COVID-19 incidence is highly uncertain, pricing the bivalent booster lower than the VBP is expected to result in a cost-effective strategy for the UK.Copyright © 2023

School Counselors and College Counseling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The onset of COVID-19 brought myriad challenges to educational systems and the students they serve. Our study set out to explore specifically how the pandemic influenced students' college-going processes. Using the conceptual model of student college choice by Perna (2006) and the school counseling equity framework by Savitz-Romer and Nicola (2021), we exam-ined students' college-going processes through the perspectives of school counselors, who are professionals uniquely positioned to speak to students' college-planning behaviors and the institutional changes that directly affect students. Findings suggest that students' college-going and planning was directly compromised by challenges from the pandemic and indirectly by changes in their college access support landscape. © 2022 Association for the Study of Higher Education All Rights Reserved.

MODELING CARE AND COMPASSION FOR STUDENT TEACHERS DURING AND AFTER COVID

In this chapter, faculty who teach the capstone course for elementary and early childhood student teachers reflect on how they modeled and implemented care throughout the course during the 2020/21 academic year. The authors address changes to the curriculum and course assignments;mental health check-ins;modeling self-care and collaboration;and advocacy to waive certain requirements for state licensure. They conclude that teacher educators must assist student teachers in developing strategies for managing anxiety and stress that they can use throughout their careers. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Melanie Shoffner and Angela W. Webb;individual chapters, the contributors.

Feasibility and acceptability of establishing virtual exercise classes for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients

Background: CFTR modulators have led to improvements in CF outcomes, including FEV1, exacerbation frequency and body mass index (BMI). Despite positive outcomes, modulators have brought new challenges – particularly elevated BMI. For many, weight gain has been due to increased fat rather than muscle mass, making exercise a high priority. Exercise has always been an integral part of CF management. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder for patients to access exercise. This presented a service need to set up a platform where patients could safely exercise at home with support from a known physiotherapist. Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a physiotherapyled online group exercise class for CF patients. Methods: In this pilot study, high and low intensity virtual exercise classes were delivered twice weekly over four weeks. Eight participants were recruited;five completed the study. The primary outcomes were (1) feasibility, assessed by means, resources and time needed to deliver the intervention and (2) acceptability, assessed by qualitative interviews with participants. FEV1, BMI, 60STS and psychosocial outcomes were also monitored. Results: Time, resources and equipment were all adequate to deliver the intervention within the service. Positive themes from interviews included: (1) Impact on health: improved fitness, (2) Motivation to exercise: feeling encouraged, supported and accountable, and (3) Convenience: saved time, money and ease of exercising at home. Some challenges patients reported were space, technical issues with equipment and missing face-to-face interaction. Conclusion: Virtual exercise classes for patients with CF are both feasible and acceptable, with patients reporting a positive impact on their fitness levels as well as reduced travel burden. Patients also stated that classes delivered by a familiar physiotherapist motivated them to exercise and instilled confidence that the exercises were safe and effective.Background: CFTR modulators have led to improvements in CF outcomes, including FEV1, exacerbation frequency and body mass index (BMI). Despite positive outcomes, modulators have brought new challenges – particularly elevated BMI. For many, weight gain has been due to increased fat rather than muscle mass, making exercise a high priority. Exercise has always been an integral part of CF management. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder for patients to access exercise. This presented a service need to set up a platform where patients could safely exercise at home with support from a known physiotherapist. Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a physiotherapyled online group exercise class for CF patients. Methods: In this pilot study, high and low intensity virtual exercise classes were delivered twice weekly over four weeks. Eight participants were recruited;five completed the study. The primary outcomes were (1) feasibility, assessed by means, resources and time needed to deliver the intervention and (2) acceptability, assessed by qualitative interviews with participants. FEV1, BMI, 60STS and psychosocial outcomes were also monitored. Results: Time, resources and equipment were all adequate to deliver the intervention within the service. Positive themes from interviews included: (1) Impact on health: improved fitness, (2) Motivation to exercise: feeling encouraged, supported and accountable, and (3) Convenience: saved time, money and ease of exercising at home. Some challenges patients reported were space, technical issues with equipment and missing face-to-face interaction. Conclusion: Virtual exercise classes for patients with CF are both feasible and acceptable, with patients reporting a positive impact on their fitness levels as well as reduced travel burden. Patients also stated that classes delivered by a familiar physiotherapist motivated them to exercise and instilled confidence that the exercises were safe and effective.

ANTI-OPPRESSIVE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

Pre-service teacher-educators are tasked with teaching not only important content, but also the realities of complex local and global social justice issues that impact their students and those students' future students. To address the colonial roots of development (Arshad-Ayaz, Andreotti, and Sutherland, 2017;Pashby, 2015), which promotes a lens of 'helping' and projects aiming to civilise the 'Other' (Andreotti, 2006), I share the theory and practice of an anti-oppressive global citizenship education (GCE), which I utilise in a teacher-education programme in Japan. I borrow Andreotti's theorisations and combine terminology from Sensoy and DiAngelo (2017) to understand an anti-oppressive GCE, which not only understands the complexities and fluidity of societies, but also uncovers the systemic oppression that organises societies. Foundational terminology is explained to understand systemic oppression and constitutive subjectivities (Coloma, 2008), and this theory is used to explain several anti-oppressive GCE practices which promote self-reflexivity and go beyond inclusion for pre-service teacher-educators. In this new COVID-19 era where injustices are magnified, this anti-oppressive GCE encourages teacher-educators to go back to the basics to understand their role in systemic oppression, as well as their role in dismantling

When the Kids Are Not Alright: School Counseling in the Time of COVID-19

The unprecedented arrival of COVID-19 upended the lives of American children with rapid shifts to remote and hybrid schooling and reduced access to school-based support. Growing concerns about threats to students' mental health and decreased numbers of students transitioning to postsecondary education suggest access to school counselors is needed more than ever. Although previous research on school counselors finds they promote positive postsecondary, social emotional, and academic outcomes for students, further studies highlight the organizational constraints, such as an overemphasis on administrative duties and unclear role expectations, that hinder their work. Drawing on survey and focus group data, our mixed methods study documents school counselors' experiences during the COVID-19 crisis, including the opportunities and constraints facing their practice. Findings suggest there should be a concerted effort to reduce the role ambiguity and conflict in counselors' roles so they are better able to meet students' increased needs.

Formative Education Online: Teaching the Whole Person During the Global COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented public health emergency, challenged higher education and threatened students’ well-being in several ways. With the abrupt shift to online learning, were instructors able to maintain a focus on educating whole students, in addition to teaching subject matter? We answer this question by investigating “formative education,” an approach to teaching and learning that emphasizes holistic development, exploring formative education online during the pandemic. This qualitative study investigates the strategies of 37 college faculty who provided successful formative education online. A cross-subject analysis of data from faculty interviews and supplemental materials (course artifacts, course evaluations, student interviews) uncovered three teaching approaches that faculty used to achieve formative education online: empathic (centering students’ emotions), reflective (facilitating deep inquiry), and adaptive (having flexibility in meeting students’ needs). These approaches could help instructors design online education that engages the whole person. © The Author(s) 2021.