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Parents protest Arcadia Unified School District’s pandemic precautions
tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
W
ith schools now open once again for in-person learning, the issues facing parents, students, teachers, and administrators are overwhelming, particularly now that the Delta variant has entered the ongoing COVID-19 battle facing our nation. A whole new set of rules, regulations and mandates from local, state, and federal health officials seem to confuse with some frequency. The very first week of school in Pasadena recorded a considerable number of students who were forced to quarantine after being possibly exposed to COVID19. The Pasadena Unified School District took immediate steps to isolate those affected. Pasadena is not alone, there have been scores of reported infections and isolations, which is why Arcadia parents feel the urgency to pressure the Board of Education and keep their children as safe as humanly possible while in school. On Tuesday evening, approximately 30 parents mobilized outside the Arcadia Unified School District’s office between 6 and 7 p.m. to protest the district's alleged lack of precautions for safe return to class during the
ongoing pandemic. Jennifer Lee, a parent, told Beacon Media: “The district isn't doing enough to protect the kids and is only doing the bare minimum that the district requires.” Concerned parents were out in force protesting what they say is a “lack of resources dedicated to the independent study program” for students who decide not to return to classes in-person. Holding signs that clearly were advocating for online learning, particularly for those unable to be vaccinated, parents demanded on site COVID-19 testing on a weekly basis. While admitting that their children fare better with in class instruction, the risks, they say, are too great. Many of the parents we spoke to want online instruction. Many parent representatives have communicated the requests with district officials, including the superintendent, board members and principals of various schools. The discussions, according to Lee, have “led to no tangible results,” and that is apparently why concerned parents attended Tuesday’s School Board meeting. Seventeen parents spoke at the meeting during public comment. There was concern about the COVID dashboard on the district website which
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FDA gives PfizerBioNtech COVID-19 vaccine full approval
Thus far, there have been no COVID-19 transmissions in Arcadia schools Terry MILLER
VOL. 9,
Fabiola DIAZ fdiaz@beaconmedianews.com
T
Scores of parents and their children protested outside Arcadia’s School Board meeting Tuesday hoping to increase the schools’ COVID-19 precautions. | Photos by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
indicates seven reported cases, including two staff members, as of Tuesday. However, Chief Communications Officer Ryan Foran was quick to point out that “There are current cases, but none of them have been transmitted from school. Meaning, they did not get it from school.” The parents outlined
the following guidelines they hope the district might consider: Online Learning and Instructions 1) Enhanced independent study program through the Rancho Learning Center. See Parent's protest pg 2
he U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday gave Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine full approval, a milestone that officials hope will accelerate vaccination rates as the Delta variant continues to drive case numbers up. “While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock in a statement. “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated.” The vaccine will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for people 16 years of age and older, according to the FDA. The vaccine continues to be available under emergency use authorization, including for children 12 to 15 years
old and for a third dose in some immunocompromised people. The agency did not provide a timeline for a decision on the use of the vaccine for those under the age of 12. In California, local officials hope authorization will lead to more people being vaccinated. According to a June survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, three in ten unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get vaccinated if one of the vaccines were to receive full approval from the FDA. However, as researchers pointed out at the time, the data “likely suggests that FDA approval is a proxy for general safety concerns, as two-thirds of adults (including a large majority of unvaccinated adults) either believe the vaccines currently available in the U.S. already have full approval from the FDA or are unsure whether they have full approval or are authorized for emergency use.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a statement, said the FDA’s approval “further confirms that the Pfizer vaccine meets a rigorous, scientific standard for safety and efficacy, protecting against serious illness, hospitalization and death,” See Pfizer page 3