Pandemic roundup on children and parents: Concerns are greater in rural areas; religion and politics are factors

Chart by The Covid States Project; click the image to enlarge it or here for the original version.

Here's a roundup of pandemic news related to parents, kids and schools:

Rural parents are more concerned about coronavirus vaccinations than their suburban and urban peers, according to a recent survey from The Covid States Project, a joint effort of Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern, and Rutgers universities. The study found that rural parents shared the same concerns as parents in cities and suburbs, but to greater degrees. They were 10 percentage points more likely than urban parents to say they were concerned that the vaccines have been tested enough (58% to 48%), nine points more likely to wonder whether the vaccines actually work (51% vs. 42%) and what long-term health effects they might cause (56% vs. 47%), and eight points more likely say they were concerned about how new the vaccine is (52% to 44%).

A rural Eastern Kentucky couple's worries about coronavirus vaccination help illustrate the Covid States Project's findings. Josh Stacy told Brandon Roberts of Spectrum News that government mistrust is a big reason he doesn't want the vaccination for himself, his wife Tomi, or their two daughters, ages 13 and 5. He also cited his Christian beliefs, saying that he doesn't think the vaccination itself is the Mark of the Beast, but believes it "can lead to that." He believes the virus is man-made and believes the government and elites want to use it as population control, and says his doubts about the vaccine have intensified as he's watched his fully vaccinated mother and stepfather battle Covid-19.

Governors in several states have barred schools from enacting mask mandates; as kids head back to school, many parents in those states—including some in rural areas—are protesting, filing suit, and signing petitions in an effort to allow schools control over their own masking policies. Read more here.

16- and 17-year-olds are the age group with the highest rate of new coronavirus infections, according to the CDC. Read more here.

Several rural Kentucky school districts have shut down because of spiking Covid-19 cases, but students won't be able to learn at home much because the state legislature recently passed a law limiting remote learning. Superintendents say they're worried the kids will have to make up the days over spring break and in summer. Read more here.

Children's hospitals around the country are seeing a surge in Covid-19 patients. Read more here.

No coronavirus vaccine has been approved for kids under age 12. This article explains the various regulatory and logistical hurdles that will need to be cleared before that happens. Read more here.

Here's an illustration of how infectious the Delta variant is, and how important it is for all parties to wear masks: A California elementary school teacher who didn't know she was infected took off her mask during story time. Though the desks were distanced from each other and masks were required indoors, half of her class tested positive in the next week—nearly all of them in the two rows closest to her desk. Read more here.

"Since March 2020, the federal government has provided $190 billion in pandemic aid to schools, an amount that is more than four times what the U.S. Education Department spends on K-12 schools in a typical year," Bryan Anderson reports for The Associated Press and Report for America. That includes about $155 billion sent to states to distribute among schools. Some rural schools are using the money to beef up their tech capabilities so students will be better able to learn at home during pandemic shutdowns. Read more here.