- The ABC Science Collaborative and NC-PAL share resources on anxiety and school avoidance in new series focused on child and adolescent mental health April 25, 2024
The ABC Science Collaborative and the North Carolina Psychiatry Access Line (NC-PAL) are sharing a new resource that clarifies common misunderstandings about students experiencing anxiety and school avoidance. It also includes strategies to help educators support students.
The resource summarizes information from a virtual session for educators on the topic of anxiety and school avoidance in students, and how teachers and school ...
- CDC Updates COVID-19 and Respiratory Virus Guidance March 18, 2024
At the start of March, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated recommendations on preventing and treating respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, in community settings. These recommendations can be easier to follow, and they provide a unified approach for addressing several respiratory viruses like COVID-19, flu, and RSV. The CDC recommends these core prevention strategies:
- Stay up-to-date with vaccinations to protect against serious illness and hospitalization
- Practice good hygiene by covering your cough, washing your ...
- ABC Science Collaborative provides resources for schools during National Nutrition Month March 7, 2024
March is National Nutrition Month, an annual information campaign that takes place to help develop healthy habits and make informed choices about food. One key to developing healthy habits is having access to healthy foods.
The ABC Science Collaborative and its partners recognize that not all students have the same access to healthy food and nutrition support. Children and families across the country experience many factors that cause food insecurity,
- The ABC Science Collaborative publishes research on trends and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children January 25, 2024
Research by The ABC Science Collaborative has been published in a recent supplement in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. The ABC Science Collaborative used data gathered in the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic to measure the impacts on children’s mental health, school attendance, and health care use. Conclusions from this research can also inform pediatric care in the future.
The supplement, published on December 26, 2023, contains nine articles, ...
- Updated COVID-19 boosters are recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older October 17, 2023
Updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are available across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone aged 6 months and older receive the updated vaccine ahead of the fall and winter seasons to prevent serious outcomes from COVID-19.
As the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, continues to evolve, it is important that everyone receive the updated, annual vaccine to better protect against the currently circulating variants-much ...
- The ABC Science Collaborative encourages back-to-school vaccination September 11, 2023
As K-12 students return to school this fall, it’s important that they are up-to-date on their routine immunizations. Vaccination throughout childhood and adolescence helps provide immunity against diseases and illnesses, like the flu, measles, COVID-19, and more. Vaccinated students also help protect their fellow school community members from getting sick.
Most schools and childcare facilities require children to receive several vaccines. If you’re a ...
- ABC Science Collaborative, RADx-UP publish lessons learned about keeping children safe in school during COVID-19 pandemic July 5, 2023
The ABC Science Collaborative and RADx-UP have published a special supplement to the research journal Pediatrics focused on lessons learned while navigating the K-12 school environment during the pandemic.
The publication supplement, “Navigating a Pandemic in the K-12 Setting, Part 2: COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination,” represents a collaborative effort between Pediatrics, The ABC Science Collaborative, and the RADx-UP Coordination and Data Collection Center.
“This body of work is a collective effort by researchers across the country to share the ...
- ABC Science Collaborative Provides Resource on the Risks of Vaping June 21, 2023
The ABC Science Collaborative developed an educational resource on the risks of vapes and e-cigarettes.
The resource, titled “The ABCs of E-Cigarette Risks and Vaping,” provides answers to common questions about e-cigarettes and their negative health impacts for young people, such as addiction. It also has tips for vaping prevention and quitting vaping.
This resource was created as a result of The ABC Science Collaborative’s meetings with North Carolina school superintendents and leadership. ...
- COVID-19 bivalent boosters now recommended for children ages 6 months and older January 11, 2023
Effective December 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older receive one updated bivalent booster if it has been at least 2 months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose, whether that was their final primary series dose or an original (monovalent) booster.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug ...
- The ABC Science Collaborative and NC InCK Partner to Create Resource Guides for Educators November 14, 2022
The ABC Science Collaborative and NC Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK) have developed a series of resource guides for North Carolina educators to help meet the health, education, and social needs of students and their families.
The resource guides are designed to serve as a quick reference tool for school social workers and others in North Carolina ...
- COVID-19 bivalent boosters now recommended for children and teens ages 5 and older October 27, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that everyone ages 5 and older receive one updated bivalent booster if it has been at least 2 months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose, whether that was their final primary series dose or an original (monovalent) booster.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a ...
- COVID-19 vaccine available for children aged 6 months – 4 years June 28, 2022
The CDC now recommends that children under the age of 5 receive the COVID-19 vaccine to protect them from the virus. Additionally, an FDA panel recommended the authorization of the vaccine for children under 5.
As of June 2022, there are two COVID-19 vaccines available for children younger than 5. The Moderna ...
- New tool can help school districts measure impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategy decisions March 9, 2022
The ABC Science Collaborative has developed a new tool to help school districts navigate the changing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Masking and Mitigation Considerations Calculator (MC2) is an online tool based on a hypothetical model generated from the most recent mitigation strategy data.
School leaders can enter a district’s specific size (number of students) and current community case rates (cases/100,000 population/7 days), and the MC2 will estimate the impact of mitigation strategy decisions on the school district and community.
The MC2 is part ...
- Universal Masking in Schools is Shown to Reduce Spread of COVID-19 March 9, 2022
Study from ABC Science Collaborative compared school districts with masking policies to those without
School districts that required masking saw lower rates of COVID-19 transmission within schools last fall compared to those with optional masking policies, according to a study by the ABC Science Collaborative.
The study, publishing online on March 9 in the journal Pediatrics, found that school districts with universal masking were less likely to experience COVID-19 spreading in their schools when compared to school districts with optional masking ...
- Incidence of COVID-19 was 8 Times Higher in Unvaccinated vs. Vaccinated Students February 22, 2022
Unvaccinated students had eight times the incidence of COVID-19 infection compared to vaccinated students in a North Carolina independent school, according to a study by the ABC Science Collaborative appearing online Feb. 22 in the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed COVID-19 data from more than 1,100 students in grades 6-12 from Aug. 1-Nov. 12, 2021. During the study period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified COVID-19 county transmission as high, and the Delta variant comprised more than ...
- Considerations for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Schools: Spring 2022 February 14, 2022
As school leaders face decisions in the days and weeks ahead to scale back COVID-19 mitigation strategies, Drs. Danny Benjamin and Kanecia Zimmerman from the ABC Science Collaborative hosted a special open forum entitled “Considerations for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Schools: Spring 2022” on Monday, Feb. 14 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET. During ...
- ABC Science Collaborative informs new ‘test-to-stay’ guidelines in NC K-12 schools January 7, 2022
New guidance in the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) gives K-12 schools in North Carolina a safe alternative to quarantine for students and staff who are identified as close contacts in school.
The update to the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit was informed by an ABC Science Collaborative study and delivery of a report on the “test-to-stay” approach in K-12 school communities.
The North Carolina “test-to-stay” guidelines state that students and staff who have an in-school exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus ...
- With ‘Test-to-Stay,’ Children and Staff Can Safely Remain in School After COVID Exposures December 29, 2021
Top scientists and physicians from the ABC Science Collaborative outline how a more focused COVID-19 “test-to-stay” protocol can keep kids in school without overwhelming the system
Children and staff who repeatedly test negative for COVID-19 after contact with someone who has the illness can safely remain in school if universal masking programs are in place, according to a new “test-to-stay” study report from the ABC Science Collaborative.
The finding provides a safe alternative to quarantining people who have been exposed to ...
- ABC Science Collaborative publishes suite of research on COVID-19 and schools November 4, 2021
The ABC Science Collaborative has released new research that provides insights on the rapid mobilization and partnership between scientists and K-12 school districts across the country during the first year of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The research published in the journal Pediatrics on Nov. 4, 2021 represents a collaboration between 67 scientists at Duke University and institutions across the country. The body of work focuses on the return to in-person learning in underserved K-12 schools and includes 12 papers on topics ...
- ABC Science Collaborative encourages eligible children to get COVID-19 vaccine November 2, 2021
The ABC Science Collaborative strongly encourages children ages 5-11 to get vaccinated this fall.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for this age group on Oct. 29, and, on Nov. 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 ...
- The ABC Science Collaborative publishes research on trends and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children January 25, 2024