On May 17, William Jewell College transitioned from Level B of Operation Safe Campus (OSC) to Level A2 of Operation Resurgent Campus (ORC) following a satisfactory employee vaccination rate of above 84%, according to a mass email sent to students and employees.

The May 14 email – delivered on the Friday preceding the college’s transition date – stated that students and employees can expect to begin the 2021-22 academic year in Level A2 of Operation Resurgent Campus. With most students off-campus for the summer, the immediate changes to guidelines would most impact employees finishing up work beyond May 17.

Among the new guidelines, the email states: 

• “All employees are expected to return to work on campus. If an employee has a need to continue remote work, they should request an accommodation from Human Resources as well as supervisory approval, unless otherwise stated on the employee job description.
• Facial coverings are not required in outdoor settings.
• Facial coverings are not required indoors for vaccinated individuals, but non-vaccinated individuals are advised to wear facial coverings per CDC guidelines or until the current Clay County order expires. Facial coverings are encouraged for any who deem it appropriate for personal well-being.
• Recognize social distancing as/when posted.”

The decision to transition to ORC follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s controversial May 13 update to facial covering recommendations for fully vaccinated persons. Also succeeding the CDC’s update, Clay County expired its facial covering mandate in an announcement on May 14, leaving the decision to continue implementing precautions up to individual businesses and organizations. 

Independent of the CDC update, the email reasons that transmission risk for individuals on campus this summer will be minimal:

“The decision to reduce these restrictions is a result of the College achieving herd immunity on a micro level. During the summer months, the majority of individuals on campus will be vaccinated, thus the risk of transmission on campus is lower.”

Additionally, further changes to guidelines will be heavily dependent on national, local and campus-wide circumstances over the summer and into fall. To transition from Level A2 to Level A1 of ORC, Jewell must “confirm that enough students are vaccinated to sustain local jurisdiction immunity expectations,” the email states. 

Specifically, in accordance with ORC’s current risk-assessment structure, the college may only graduate from Level A2 to Level A1 once at least 40% of students are fully vaccinated, along with at least 50% of all on-campus persons. As of May 20, over half (50.7%) of Missouri adults have received at least one dose of a multi-dose COVID-19 vaccine – either Pfizer or Moderna – and 42.5% of Missouri adults are fully vaccinated, according to an approximate, interactive data report by Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Meanwhile, 31.1% of Clay County residents have initiated the vaccination process and 26.9% are fully vaccinated. 

Despite a national estimation by CDC showing a continuous decline in transmission of the virus in upcoming weeks, the resulting expiration of precautionary guidelines has some healthcare workers worried. National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association for nurses in the United States, published a 17-page document in response to the CDC’s update, stating their disapproval for some of the data used to reach such a decision.

“The studies cited by the CDC in this brief provide an incomplete picture of vaccine efficacy,” the association wrote with concern about recent virus variants. “Important questions remain unanswered about the longevity of vaccine protection, efficacy of vaccines against mild and asymptomatic [COVID-19], and impact of variants of concern that are more transmissible and that are or may become resistant to vaccine protection.

With the virus still very present in the United States, and even now reaching a crisis point in India, the situation is subject to change over time; heeding the uniqueness of the pandemic, Jewell’s ORC email update concludes:

“As a reminder, the College’s response to the pandemic will remain fluid for the next several months as our country reopens. Should the country and/or our community experience an unexpected and unfortunate setback resulting in an increase in incidence rates, the College may implement protocols in OSC Level B.”

*This article was updated on 28 May 2021 to include a link to Operation Resurgent Campus’s webpage at https://www.jewell.edu/operation-resurgent-campus.

After a year of unprecedented, global challenges brought about by COVID-19 , the approval of several vaccines gave the world hope that the end of mask-wearing and social-distancing might be approaching soon. That hope still exists, but a few more obstacles have appeared in the form of new variant strains of the coronavirus.

Variants of the coronavirus arise through naturally occurring random mutations in their genomes. Each time a virus unit multiplies inside a human body, it has a chance to mutate – essentially adding up to trillions of chances within a single person given a few days. These random mutations have the ability to change or delete one of the amino acids that function as the building blocks of the coronavirus protein. These mutations can alter the shape, and subsequently, the function of the coronavirus proteins. Mutations are more likely to be passed down if they are determined to be beneficial to the virus, creating these variant strains that favor traits like higher transmissibility, causing them to become more widespread.

The B.1.1.7 variant has become most apparent and poses the most risk at the moment. The variant began to spread rapidly through the United Kingdom in December of 2020. 

The B.1.1.7 variant has 17 mutations that have altered the amino acid sequence in the viral proteins. Some of these mutations, such as the N501Y mutation, are what make this variant of the virus more successful at infecting cells: this mutation has greater success with infection because it has changed the shape of coronavirus in a way that allows it to attach slightly better to human cells. Other mutations make it harder for antibodies to attach to the coronavirus and stop infection.

The B.1.1.7 variant has been estimated to be about 56 percent more contagious than other known coronavirus variants, which indicates that it may become the dominant strain in the United States as early as March. As of now, this variant has not been definitively found to be more deadly or cause more severe illness than other strains; however, it may still cause increased mortality rates due to an increase in infection rates.

According to the CDC, as of Jan. 31, there are 467 confirmed B.1.1.7 coronavirus cases in a total of 32 states. Missouri has yet to report or confirm any B.1.1.7 cases; California and Florida are in the lead, with over 100 confirmed variant cases in each.

However, these numbers may not be entirely accurate due to the lack of a nationwide system for identifying genetic variations. Out of the 1.4 million people testing positive for the coronavirus each week, fewer than 3,000samples are genome sequenced.

With this highly contagious variant on the rise, more safety measures may have to be put into place to control the spread and ultimately prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by a surge in new cases. 
According to experts, increasing the number of vaccinations throughout the country should help to control the spread of both the original and variations like the B.1.1.7 strain. As scientists now think, the vaccines will still be highly effective against the B.1.1.7 variant. Nevertheless, it is something they will continue to study to ensure the efficacy of current and future vaccines needed to end this pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) have released documents to health officials in all 50 states outlining the strategy for the distribution of a possible coronavirus vaccine. 

This strategy is a result of the efforts made by Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed is a partnership between the HHS and DoD, as well as other federal agencies and private firms that coordinate to help accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

The “COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations” outlines a three-phased approach to the vaccination process. The first phase is set to begin as soon as a coronavirus vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Trump administration announced that they are hoping for that approval to come as soon as early November. 

With the limited supply of doses expected to be available in the first few months, Phase one distribution concentrates on what they have deemed critical populations that include healthcare professionals, higher risk individuals and essential workers. 

Phase two will begin as soon as a large number of vaccine doses become available for the general public, which is estimated to not be until January 2021 at the earliest. 

The final phase will begin as the demand for coronavirus vaccinations begins to decrease, resulting in a shift to open access to the vaccination and routine doses. 

Some people have begun questioning how the vaccine will be distributed fairly within the general population while doses are still limited. The CDC has reassured the distribution process will be fair and equitable, including in their plan that minority populations known to be at greater risk will receive priority access to the vaccine.

The looming possibility for widespread distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be a complex effort that will need the urgent preparation and cooperation of all levels of government in order to be a success. The Trump administration has struggled with the logistical challenges of containing the spread of coronavirus, so this daunting task of proper vaccine handling and allocation spreads concerns of effectiveness. 

Some health experts worry that the Trump administration is compromising scientific integrity by seeking to rush vaccine approval and distribution so that it occurs before Election Day on Nov. 3. This casts doubts on the President’s intentions and the safety of the vaccine.

A poll released by NPR in August found that 60 percent of Americans say they will choose to be vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine is made available to them and 35 percent would decline.

The timeline on a possible coronavirus vaccine is unprecedented, taking less than a year to complete a process that usually takes several to yield reliable results. The leaders of Operation Warp Speed are trying to allay public concerns of the safety of the vaccine by publishing an outline of their progress and reiterating how any possible vaccine will be held to high scientific standards. The FDA is also stressing that if they make a decision for an emergency use authorization before testing has concluded, it will be based solely on data rather than politics. 

The coronavirus vaccine will be distributed to states in order based on proportional population. This means that Missouri would be the 18th state to receive the new vaccine. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director, Dr. Randall Williams, assures that the department, in conjunction with the CDC, has begun actively planning for the complicated distribution methods needed to effectively provide vaccinations for people in all areas of the state.

Republicans were unable to end a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, so legislation to fund the government was not passed. The topics of concern for many senators were Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and funding for a wall along the United States-Mexico border.

The House Republicans passed a bill Jan. 18 that would have funded the government for four weeks while extending the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years. While the shutdown has been attributed to poor cooperation by Democrats, both parties are to blame. The bill needed 60 votes to pass in the Senate, but did not reach this mark, rejected by both Democrats and Republicans.

Trump said he was going to end the DACA program in March, which could affect around 700,000 immigrants. Since then Democrats have been pushing for a bipartisan proposal to address this problem, so many rejected the House’s spending bill as the extension of CHIP did not provide protection for immigrants.

The government reopened after a short-term spending bill passed in the House and Senate and was signed by Trump in the evening of  Jan. 22.  

During a government shutdown, federal employees are classified as either “essential” or “nonessential.” Nonessential employees do not go to work and are not paid for the period of the shutdown. Essential employees must report to work but are not paid during the shutdown, although most are compensated accordingly once the government reopens.

The last government shutdown occurred in 2013 and had substantial effects. According to Vox, economic growth in the last quarter of 2013 was cut by 0.2 to 0.6 percent. In addition, tax refunds were delayed, the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program was unfunded, Environmental Protection Agency inspections were halted, the drug approvals were delayed for the Food and Drug Administration, the National Parks Service shut down resulting in millions of dollars lost in tourism and many science organizations shut down or lost funding. All of this happened from Oct. 1, 2013 to Oct.17, 2013, only 16 days.

In 2013, the impacted science organizations included the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The majority of employees at the NIH and the NSF were deemed nonessential, so grant reviews were halted and clinical trials stopped, and the CDC stopped monitoring disease outbreaks.

Despite nonessential employees not receiving pay, halting all this work does not actually save the government money during a shutdown. In 2013, 40 percent of government employees were classified as nonessential and went 16 days without pay. However, Congress ended up compensating them. This is in addition to costs associated with halting work at government agencies and organizations, particularly in the sciences.

“Without a resolution the federal scientific enterprise will come to a screeching halt, potentially adding millions of dollars in costs and months of delay to taxpayer-funded projects,” said Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

While the 2018 shutdown was too short to have the kind of effects seen in 2013, the potential for them was still there. The government approved funding only until Feb. 8 so if a spending bill is not passed by then the government could shut down again, leading to the detrimental effects seen in 2013. Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8, Congress has only three working days because they will be on retreat for much of this time, so they are expected to pass another short-term bill until a bipartisan agreement on immigration can be made.

Photo Courtesy of Vice.com