Florida gives two school districts 48 hours to comply with mask rule or lose funding

Florida is escalating its war against school districts that require masks in defiance of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) directive against them.

The Florida Board of Education is ordering Alachua and Broward County school districts to comply with an order allowing parents to opt out of local mask mandates, with state officials giving the districts 48 hours to comply before they move to withhold funding.

The state is requesting a list of the annual salaries of all school board members in the counties, and the BOE will then begin withholding 1/12th of that amount each month from the district’s funds, as an initial step.

Both Alachua and Broward have instituted mask requirements for all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, in defiance of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), whose “Bill of Rights” order has effectively prevented schools from requiring masks.

The state requires public schools to allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt-out of any mask requirements without any reason. Alachua and Broward require doctors’ notes.

The state: “It is important to remember that this issue is about ensuring local school board members, elected politicians, follow the law,” Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in a statement. “These are the initial consequences to their intentional refusal to follow state law and state rule to purposefully and willingly violate the rights of parents. This is simply unacceptable behavior.”

Federal support for schools: The White House on Friday said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has spoken with officials in Broward and Alachua counties, telling them to hold the line, and assuring them that any financial penalties imposed by the state can be addressed using federal funds.

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AstraZeneca antibody cocktail considered effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among the high-risk

AstraZeneca scored a win on Friday as data showed its antibody cocktail is 77 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in high-risk populations.

The research found no one who took AstraZeneca’s combination, called AZD7442, developed severe COVID-19 or died due to the virus. In comparison, three participants who received the placebo endured serious illness, with two fatalities.

AstraZencea called the treatment, involving the antibodies ixagevimab and cilgavimab, the first “long-acting antibody combination to prevent COVID-19” in a release.

Overall, 25 positive coronavirus infections were confirmed in the Provent study involving more than 5,100 patients across sites in the ​​U.S., U.K., Belgium, France and Spain. The participants were unvaccinated at the time and had a negative test.

Significance: Drug manufacturers have been testing different antibody treatments for COVID-19 to provide a way to help those who may not have adequate vaccine protection, including cancer patients, fight the virus.

“With these exciting results, AZD7442 could be an important tool in our arsenal to help people who may need more than a vaccine to return to their normal lives,” Myron Levin, principal investigator in the study, said in a statement.

What’s next: The study is expected to be sent to a peer-reviewed medical journal to be published, as well as to regulators for an emergency use authorization or conditional approval.

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US extending travel restrictions with Mexico, Canada

The U.S. is extending the nonessential closure of its borders with Canada and Mexico to at least Sept. 21 due to the delta variant of the coronavirus, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.

“In coordination with public health and medical experts, DHS continues working closely with its partners across the United States and internationally to determine how to safely and sustainably resume normal travel,” the agency tweeted.

The extraordinary closures have been extended monthly since they were put in place at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Canada began letting fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents into the country on Aug. 9, but Canadians still can’t travel into the U.S. unless it is for an essential purpose.

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World Stats

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