* AP…

About 6 in 10 Americans say students and teachers should be required to wear face masks while in school, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Similar shares say teachers and eligible students should also be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. […]

The poll shows 59% of Americans support vaccination requirements for teachers and nearly as many — 55% — say the same for students age 12 and over, who are eligible to be vaccinated. Among parents, support was lower, with 42% backing vaccine mandates for students.

* SJ-R…

[Dr. Marc Shelton, HSHS senior vice president and chief clinical officer] said the delta variant is more likely to hospitalize unvaccinated people younger than 65 because older people are more likely to be vaccinated. The variant also appears to make people sicker and in a shorter time period, he said.

A year ago, a rise in COVID-19 diagnoses typically was followed by a surge in hospitalizations eight to 15 weeks later, Shelton said. Now, because of the delta variant, it takes five weeks for patients to show up at the hospital after being diagnosed, he said. […]

The average age of COVID-19 patients in MHS hospitals now is 58, compared with 69 in 2020. These patients are requesting more interventions to maximize their chance of survival, and those interventions, such as using a ventilator to help a patient breathe, must take place in inpatient settings, Govindaiah said.

The rising hospitalizations has prompted Memorial officials to open new COVID-19 units and redeploy some staff from other jobs to provide more support at the bedside, he said.

* This is far worse than scamming the government to get a handicapped parking pass and should be treated far more harshly…

An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. […]

In some cases, he said, he believes those problems justify an exemption under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because they interfere with learning.

But Laurie VanderPloeg, an associate executive director at the Council for Exceptional Children, an advocacy group, cautioned that under the federal law, children would not be allowed to go maskless simply because they asked.

Under the law, she said, school districts would have to go through a formal process to establish whether a child does, in fact, have a particular mental or physical disability, such as a respiratory condition, that would warrant an exception to the mask rule.

In Kansas, the Spring Hill school board is allowing parents to claim a medical or mental health exemption from the county’s requirement that elementary school students mask up. They do not need a medical provider to sign off.

I recently saw a video online of an anti-mask Illinois parent citing ADA at a school, so I presume this scam has arrived here. I’m so old I remember when we used to be disgusted when people lied about a disability to obtain undeserved special treatment.

* Tribune…

As Chicago Public Schools students prepare to return to classrooms next week, a group of City Council and General Assembly members say they are “deeply concerned” about the district’s COVID-19 safety plans.

“The delta variant of COVID-19 has demonstrated its stronger transmission among unvaccinated young people, and we are deeply concerned that Chicago Public Schools’ current plan for students and staff to return to school buildings rolls back many important safety mitigation standards that can undermine the district’s objective of increasing equity for students especially in light of an ever-changing pandemic that is increasingly harming younger age groups,” Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, and Democratic state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas wrote in a letter Sunday to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle and interim CPS CEO José Torres.

The full letter is here. The full list of signatories is here and here.

…Adding… Tribune…

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have hammered out about 25% of a COVID-19 safety agreement with just a week to go until students return to classrooms for full-time in-person learning, the union said Monday as it called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team to “get serious” about working out a full deal.

* Press release…

Rev. & Mrs. Jesse Jackson’s COVID-19 Update
Sunday, August 22, 2021, 6:00 p.m.
Statement by son, Jonathan Jackson

Chicago, IL — Both of my parents have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and especially because of their ages, physicians at the Northwestern University Memorial Hospital are carefully monitoring their condition.

Both are resting comfortably and are responding positively to their treatments.

My family appreciates all of the expressions of concern and prayers that have been offered on their behalf, and we will continue to offer our prayers for your family as well. We ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our parents. We will continue to update you on a regular basis.

* More…

* Cook County’s New Indoor Mask Mandate Takes Effect Monday

* 28 receive U of I System honor for leading COVID-19 response

* Durand CUSD 322 reverses course, will comply with the mask mandate

* This School Year Is Going to Be a Mess—Again: We have the tools to keep Delta in check, but schools have to actually use them.

* Some Americans No Longer Believe in the Common Good: They now are thinking only of themselves

* Pentagon to mandate COVID-19 vaccine, as Pfizer is approved