Gorilla recovery, hydroxychloroquine return, prison problems: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Montgomery: Officials said Tuesday that the state will see a slight increase, about 16%, in COVID-19 vaccine doses coming in federal shipments, but the ongoing shortage remains the chief obstacle to getting more people inoculated. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. is boosting deliveries to hard-pressed states over the next three weeks to increase vaccinations. “I’m pleased that Alabama will receive a slight increase in our vaccine supply. Any margin of increase is appreciated, but we have a long way to go to be able to provide them to any Alabamian who wants one,” Gov. Kay Ivey said Tuesday. State Health Officer Scott Harris said Alabama will receive an additional 10,000 first doses in its upcoming delivery. The state had been receiving about 50,000 to 60,000 first doses each week but will s
January 25, 2021
Almost a year after COVID-19 reached the United States and government-mandated lockdowns began shutting down nearly every aspect of American life, many schools across the nation have yet to reopen for in-person learning.
While the science and data, previously ignored by the virtue-signaling left, suggests that educational leaders should seriously consider ending virtual schooling for the sake of students’ mental health and academic advancement, many school districts remain closed, offering only online classes or virtual learning options to millions of children and teens.
Even as the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more readily available to members of the community, including teachers, authoritative voices in the education world have expressed hesitancy and even cast doubt on the decision to abolish remote learning.
Wikimedia Commons
The West Virginia Board of Education canceled a meeting that was scheduled Tuesday morning to address counties that did not initially comply with a ruling to return to in-person learning.
The meeting was scheduled to address counties that voted to remain in remote-only instruction. But last week, Gilmer, Taylor and Marion agreed to offer an in-person option making them the last of the state’s 55 counties to comply with the state board’s demands.
State school board President Miller Hall said in a press release that he was pleased all counties were now back in buildings, and he said mitigation efforts, such as mask-wearing and social distancing, to combat the spread of COVID-19, would continue.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The Marion County Board of Education meets for an emergency meeting on Jan. 22, 2021 to discuss school reentry.
The ruling requires some in-person instruction for grades K-8 regardless of the color on the state’s COVID-19 risk map.
All 55 county school systems are now offering some in-person classes. In some places, school might be held in brick-and-mortar buildings a full five days a week, but in others, some have shortened days, and some are blended alternating between in-person and remote throughout the week.
Fully remote learning is no longer permitted for students in kindergarten through middle school, and high schools are only allowed to be remote when a county is red on the state’s coronavirus map.