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This article on Covid from NBC news talks about a new Covid variant that is causing hospitalizations and deaths across the country. However for many people this new variant does not seem to be causing worse symptoms. This leads to many questions on what actions should be taken. The answer all varies on how high your risk factors are and how sick you tend to get. As well as keeping in mind the sooner you get treated the better outcome you have. In a PK-4th grade classroom teachers can review and encourage healthy practices like washing you hands, wearing a face mask if you have a cough and staying at home if they do not feel well to avoid other students from getting sick.

“Covid Jn.1 Variant Surge: What to Know about Testing and Accuracy.”

NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 13 Jan. 2024, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-variant-surge-testing-accuracy-rcna133699.

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The U.S. is currently in the midst of a Covid wave, fueled by the JN.1 variant that's driving up hospitalizations and deaths across the country. For most people, however, the new variant doesn't seem to be causing worse symptoms.

That's left many wondering whether we need to keep swabbing our nasal passages with Covid tests at the first sign of congestion or achiness? How well do at-home rapid tests work against the new variant?

Here's what to know:

Do I still need to take a Covid test?

Influenza and some cold viruses are circulating along with Covid. So there are good reasons to know which virus you've got, particularly if you are at higher risk of getting really sick.

"It's important to know if you have Covid versus the flu versus something that's not viral at all - like strep throat - because they have different treatments," said Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine. "They have different treatments, and the sooner you get treated the better outcome you'll have."

For a healthy 25-year-old, there is still some utility in getting tested. If somebody in the home has a weak immune system or is fighting cancer, for example, it's important to isolate if it's Covid.

"Remember for all these viruses or bacterial infections, contagiousness is different and how sick you may get is different." Karan said.

Joseph Petrosino, a chair of molecular biology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, acknowledged that while it may not be as necessary for young, healthy people to take an at-home test, it can be helpful to know if it's Covid in case someone ends up with lingering symptoms.

"There are healthy people, runners or people who work out, who do get long Covid as well," he said. "You just really never know - it's hard to predict just based on comorbidity factors alone."

Otherwise, for someone who is low-risk, getting a positive Covid test won't change much about treatment. Whether it's Covid, a cold or flu, get plenty of rest, hydration and stay away from others.

How does the new variant affect testing?

There is no data that the JN.1 variant should have any effect on the results of an at-home rapid test, experts say.

"I have not seen anything to suggest that the newer variants have evaded detection on tests," said Karan. "Certainly this has happened in the past with other diagnostics earlier in the pandemic, but at this point the tests should pick up these variants."

Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical pathologist at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said that while she hasn't seen data for this specific variant, if it's anything like other variants, it won't be an issue. Rapid tests actually look for a part of the virus that is less likely to mutate and dodge the tests.

"There's always this fear that we're going to have some mutation that's now going to make the tests not work, but so far that's not really the case," said Butler-Wu.

When is the best time to test?

In the early days of the pandemic, before most people had some kind of immunity either after infection or from the vaccines, an individual's viral load would be highest when symptoms first appeared.

Now, the levels of virus may actually be highest a few days into the illness, according to a study published last fall in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases from researchers at Harvard Medical School. They found that in those with pre-existing immunity, the level of virus peaks around the fourth day of symptoms.

This means that if someone tests too early in the illness, it may show up negative.

"Their symptoms could be caused by their immune response," Karan said. "So you're getting some inflammation and that's causing symptoms, and that's also preventing the virus from building up quite as fast, and so your initial test could be negative."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends testing immediately if you believe you've been exposed to Covid and are showing symptoms such as congestion, cough or body aches.

If you've been exposed but don't have any symptoms, the CDC says to wait five days.

There is a misconception that rapid tests are "one and done," says Butler-Wu.

"If you're symptomatic and the first one is negative, you need to repeat it," she said.

The official guidance from the CDC is that if you have symptoms, take a rapid test, and if it's negative repeat it 48 hours later.

I tested positive. Does that mean I'm contagious?

At-home rapid tests are a good way to know if someone is contagious.

Simply put, rapid tests require a higher level of virus to turn positive, and higher levels of virus typically mean somebody is more contagious.

There are some limitations to the tests, however.

Karan said that while early on in the course of the illness they can be good proxies for contagiousness, they aren't as reliable at the end of an illness.

There is data where rapid tests were positive, but when they got people's samples, the virus couldn't be cultured - meaning that those people were unlikely to be contagious, Karan said.

A 2022 study from researchers at Harvard Medical School suggested that only half of people who test positive after five days are actually contagious.

"After that time period, if your rapid test is positive it's not a guarantee you're still contagious."

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As the new Covid variant surges in the U.S., what to know about testing and accuracy

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Do we need to keep swabbing our nasal passages with Covid tests at the first sign of congestion or achiness? How well do at-home rapid tests work against the JN.1 variant?

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In this article on bullying and mental health found on NBC News it talks about connections on online bullying specifically racial discrimination and students mental health. It states that these teens that have been racially discriminated towards online are more likely to have PTSD from these events and higher suicide rates. Due to this online bullying suicide rates in Black children from 2007 to 2020 have increased by 144%. This can be used in the classroom by teaching students how to be safe online and speak out if they are being bullied. As well as encouraging students to be kind to one another and make sure we create a family in our classroom.

“Online Racism Is Linked to PTSD Symptoms in Black Youth, Study Finds.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 5 Jan. 2024, www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/online-racism-linked-ptsd-symptoms-black-youth-study-finds-rcna132369.

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Mounting evidence shows the devastating toll online racism takes on Black youth.

According to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Black children and teens who experience racial discrimination online may develop symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Those PTSD symptoms, the researchers found, were also potentially linked to suicidal thoughts.

The suicide rates of Black youth have risen over the past two decades, said study co-author Ashley Denise Maxie-Moreman, PhD, a pediatric clinical psychologist at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

A 2023 report from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that from 2007 to 2020, the suicide rate in Black children and teens ages 10 to 17 increased by 144% - the fastest increase compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

The researchers suspected that online racism might play a role in suicide risk.

"We know that cyberbullying is an issue for all kiddos," Maxie-Moreman said. "But in particular, for our Black youth, cyberbullying in the form of online racial discrimination is a really big issue."

The new study included data from 525 Black children and teens, ages 11 to 19, collected in late 2020. The researchers looked at online racial discrimination directed specifically to an individual, such as a racist meme or messaging. (A separate study, in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, found that Black teens reported experiencing an average of five instances of racial discrimination per day.)

In response to online racism, the children and teens in the study reported several symptoms of PTSD, Maxie-Moreman said, including feeling on guard and isolated, having intrusive thoughts that won't go away, and uncontrollable distress.

The researchers found that children and teens who experienced racism online were more likely to report PTSD symptoms, and that those who developed PTSD symptoms were more likely to report suicidal thoughts. However, they didn't find that experiencing online racism directly led to an increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts. Maxie-Moreman said a larger study could help uncover whether there is a direct link between the two.

Dr. Kevin Simon, Boston's first chief behavioral health officer and a pediatric psychiatrist at Boston Children's Hospital, said symptoms of PTSD can often overlap with symptoms of depression, both of which are linked to suicidal thoughts. These include feelings of irritability, having a negative mood, poor sleep, detachment from others and individuals not wanting to enjoy activities they once enjoyed, said Simon, who was not involved with the new research.

The psychological effects of pervasive racism

Other experts agreed that the new findings underscore just how harmful experiencing racism - both online and offline - can be to Black youth.

Michael Lindsey, the Dean and Paulette Goddard professor of social work at the New York University Silver School of Social Work, said that witnessing the evidence of harm being done to Black people either by law enforcement or vigilantes can create a sense of "helplessness or hopelessness" in Black adolescents about their future. The exposure can also influence their mental health long term, leading them further into depression or by making them anxious.

Black adolescents may also experience hypervigilance - a state of high alert - if they had an encounter either online or in the real world that had a "debilitating impact on them," Lindsey said. Other incidents that may prove harmful to a Black child's psyche include family disruptions and dislocation along with food and housing insecurities, he added.

Dr. Amanda Calhoun, chief resident of Yale University's Albert J. Solnit integrated adult/child psychiatry program, said the high rates of suicide in Black children and teens stem from offline factors fueled by anti-Black racism, including adultification, criminalization and the success of punishment on Black children. Calhoun also said that racial discrimination can be harmful for pregnant Black women and can result in low birth weights for infants, which puts babies more at risk for developing mental health issues in childhood and adulthood.

"I really think a primary driver of the declining mental health that we're seeing in Black children are experiences of anti-Black racism," Calhoun said, adding that "there is little to no standardized training in how do you help Black children to navigate being a Black child in America and experiencing racism."

Providing a community of support

The study authors wrote that online platforms should be aware of the associations between online racial discrimination, PTSD and suicidal ideation and create safer spaces for Black teens. Some of those regulatory actions include proactive monitoring and reduction of hate speech, Maxie-Moreman said.

"It's really scary to think that our Black youth could be having suicidal thoughts because of racist comments or racist memes or racist messages or racist chat groups that they are being exposed to online," she said.

Experts who spoke to NBC News said that there are several approaches that can be taken to help Black youth.

This includes parents having an open dialogue with their children about the negative experiences they have online, at school or in their friend groups, Lindsey said.

Schoolteachers and social workers are also important in connecting Black youth to mental health services.

"Social workers are the largest provider of mental health services," Lindsey said. "So, we need more school social workers and they can be incredibly helpful to ensuring that kids are being identified early when there is a challenge and connected to support from services early and often."

Calhoun cautioned that some therapy approaches may be ineffective for Black children and teens dealing with racism. One example she gave was cognitive behavioral therapy, which is used to challenge distorted thinking, or mental filters or biases that make individuals have negative feelings about themselves.

"You're going to challenge the thought that Black children have that they're being treated unfairly, and challenge that and say that that's not really true?" Calhoun said. "So, it's very easy for cognitive behavioral therapy to become gaslighting."

Black children can also experience racism and biases from their therapist, which can also affect treatment, she added.

Simon, who is a Black psychiatrist, agreed. He said that it's necessary for white mental health care providers to "be genuinely empathetic and generally curious about the experiences of their Black patients." As a provider, he said he also makes sure to acknowledge and affirm his patients' experiences and counteract the devaluation with positive affirmations.

"You are just as good of a person that you're supposed to be," Simon said he tells patients. "You don't have to try to be more than you should."
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

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Online racism is linked to PTSD symptoms in Black youth, study finds

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Online racism was linked to PTSD symptoms in Black teens, and PTSD symptoms are linked to suicidal thoughts. Mental health experts want to fight rising suicide rates in Black youth.

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In this article about the LGBTQ community on PBS it talks about the new law that has been put into place in Louisiana banning gender affirming care for minors. Minors currently on this treatment need to be weaned off it at the start of this new year. Louisiana is one of 22 other states in the country that have enacted this law. It has caused discomfort and distress for many people in the community. Not only affecting them physical but as well as their confidence and social life. This can be taught in the classroom by teaching our students to be respectful of our peers sexual preferences. We can inform that while we may not be always have full control of the law we can practice welcoming and accepting practices in our classroom.

Chavez, Roby. “Trans Youth ‘terrified’ of What Louisiana’s New Health Care Ban Will Mean.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 16 Jan. 2024, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trans-youth-terrified-of-what-louisianas-new-health-care-ban-will-mean.

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Trans youth ‘terrified’ of what Louisiana’s new health care ban will mean

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A new law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Louisiana took effect at the start of the year. Since the legislation was passed last summer, parents have been scrambling for help.

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Safety and Preventing Unintentional Injury

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Safety and Preventing Unintentional Injury

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In this article about a wildfire victim on PBS it talks about a survivor who traveled to another Hawaii island after her town on Maui was destroyed. Many people lost love ones and their homes during this fire. Those who survived suffered from a cough due to ashes from the fire and air pollution. This topic can be incorporated into the classroom by talking about natural disasters and encouraging students and their families to have a plan in case one would happen. As well as educating students on where its more likey for this things to happen and why.

Johnson, Gene, et al. “She Died Weeks after Fleeing the Maui Wildfire. Her Family Fought to Have Her Listed as a Victim.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 27 Dec. 2023, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/she-died-weeks-after-fleeing-the-maui-wildfire-her-family-fought-to-have-her-listed-as-a-victim.

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She died weeks after fleeing the Maui wildfire. Her family fought to have her listed as a victim.

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The number of people exposed to natural hazards has increased as climate change has intensified disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. Studies suggest that wildfire disproportionately affects vulnerable people such as those who are older, have a diminished capacity to respond to danger, or are low-income.

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In this article about physical activity on The Washington Post it talks about different ways to make exercise a habit. It gives recommendations on how to get outside more and starting with smaller work outs. As well as well as other benefits not just losing weight. This can be incorporated into the classroom by teaching students fun games and activities they can do outside. As well as educating them on the importance of being active.

Build an Exercise Habit in 7 Easy Steps - The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/12/12/easy-exercise-habits/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2024.

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(Washington Post Illustration; iStock)
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Making exercise resolutions for 2024 is easy. It's much harder to follow through. But these seven tips offer some surprisingly simple and practical ways to establish exercise habits that stick.

Perhaps most important, the advice underscores that even the briefest workouts - a few extra steps, an 11-minute walk - can have potent benefits for our health, especially if we exercise consistently.
Live well every day with tips and guidance on food, fitness and mental health, delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
So consider these seven tips your road map to a fitter 2024.

1. 11-minutes of brisk walking makes a big difference

The biggest gains in exercise come when we just start moving a little. Walking for at least 11 minutes every day could lower your risk of premature death by almost 25 percent, according to a major study of 30 million people. Those 11 daily minutes of exercise also dropped people's risks for heart disease by 17 percent and for cancer of any kind by 7 percent. For certain cancers, including myeloid leukemia, myeloma and some stomach cancers, the risk fell by as much as 26 percent.

Learn more: Got 11 minutes? A daily brisk walk could lower risk for early death.

2. Morning exercise may be better for burning fat

If you'd like to burn a little more fat with each workout and slowly lower your body's fat stores, there may be advantages to exercising before noon. Research in mice showed that the animals whoran within a few hours of waking up burned more fat than mice who exercised later in their day. In morning mouse exercisers, their fat released substantially more fatty acids, the building blocks of fat, into the animals' bloodstream, ready for use as muscle fuel. And the remaining fat tissue showed larger increases in biochemical markers of heat production and mitochondrial activity than the fat from the evening (in mouse terms) runners, as well as in the activity of certain genes related to fat metabolism.

Learn more: How the timing of your workout can affect your health

3. Outdoor workouts improve the benefits of exercise

Moving your workout outside can be a simple way to magnify its benefits, not only for thinking but also for health, happiness, fitness and motivation. "Green exercise" - meaning physical activity done in nature - can improve working memory and concentration substantially more than completing the same brief walk inside. The effects can extend beyond brief improvements in concentration, other research shows, to upping motivation and making exercise feel less daunting. In a study published last year from China; young, inactive people with obesity who started walking in a park or gym on alternate days reported feeling considerably less stress and enjoying exercise more when they walked outside.

Learn more: Why an outdoor workout is better for you than indoors

4. Walking four days a week can boost brain health

It's never too late for exercise to boost your brain health. In a study of 70- and 80-year-olds, walking just four days a week for four months led to better scores on cognitive tests. And brain scans showed that brain connections were stronger than before, with cells and whole networks lighting up at the same time, a common hallmark of better thinking.

Learn more: It's never too late for exercise to boost your brain health

5. For many, just 6,000 steps is the sweet spot

There is nothing magical or evidence-based about 10,000 steps a day. So feel free to let go of that goal. A study of more than 47,000 people showed that for men and women younger than 60, the greatest relative reductions in the risk of dying prematurely came with step counts of between about 8,000 and 10,000 per day. For people older than 60, the threshold was a little lower. For them, the sweet spot in terms of reduced mortality risk came at between 6,000 and 8,000 steps a day.

Learn more: 7 surprising tips for step counters

6. Less strenuous exercise can burn more fat

The key to finding your fat-burning zone is often to exercise far more gently than many of us might expect. Whether you burn primarily fat or carbohydrates during exercise depends mostly on your workout's intensity. In broad terms, the harder you exert yourself, the more your body relies on carbs.

What may surprise some people is that the lighter the workout, the more your body uses fat to fuel it, making easy exercise the key to your fat-burning zone. In studies, people were advised to walk at speeds they felt they could maintain for at least 45 minutes usually settled into a pace squarely in their fat-burning zone. That pace also tended to be slower than many of us might expect, hovering at about 2.5 to 3 miles an hour for many people, or barely 20 minutes per mile.

Learn more: How to find your fat-burning zone

7. You get more out of exercise when you track it

Learning how much we actually move by tracking our steps could help us start thinking of ourselves as active people, which can pay health dividends. In one study, groups of exercisers tracked their step counts. Some of them were given accurate reports of their 7,000 daily steps. But another group was lied to - they were exercising plenty, but were told they were taking just 4,000 steps a day.

The exercisers who had been told correctly that they walked about 7,000 steps a day reported better moods and higher self-esteem. When they started counting steps, they also began eating better, consuming fewer high-fat foods and more produce. And their aerobic fitness had risen slightly, although they weren't exercising more.

But people who thought they had taken only 4,000 steps a day showed slightly lower self-esteem, darker moods, poorer eating habits, and small increases in their resting heart rates and blood pressure, indicating somewhat worsening health, although their step counts, objectively, were the same as everyone else's. The findings suggest that a negative mind-set - such as feeling like you're failing at exercise - is bad for your health.

So track your exercise and try not to compare your steps or other activities to those of anyone else. Instead, celebrate how active you have discovered yourself to be.

Learn more: Feel like a slug? You may have the wrong exercise mindset.

Sign up for the Well+Being newsletter, your source of expert advice and simple tips to help you live well every day
View 3 more stories Do you have a fitness question? Email YourMove@washpost.com and we may answer your question in a future column.

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Our 7 best tips to build an exercise habit

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These seven tips offer some surprisingly simple and practical ways to establish exercise habits that stick.

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In this article about drug use on the National Institute on Drug Abuse talks about the declining trends on the use of illicit drugs. This is due to school closures and social distancing. Does not mean teens do are not consuming drugs. Alcohol, nicotine vaping, and cannabis use are still reported but have remained steady over the past years. I can use this information in the classroom to inform students on the risk of drug use and ways to avoid peer pressure.

“Reported Drug Use among Adolescents Continued to Hold below Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2023.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 5 Jan. 2024, nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/12/reported-drug-use-among-adolescents-continued-to-hold-below-pre-pandemic-levels-in-2023.

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Reported drug use among adolescents continued to hold below pre-pandemic levels in 2023 | National Institute on Drug Abuse

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New data show relatively low use of illicit substances, and yet overdose death rates among teens have risen

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In this article about healthy recipes on BBC it talks about Jersey food education charity that is releasing a cook book based on healthy recipes submitted by students. This cook book is to promote nutritious meals created by students and allow them to get creative. I think this is a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen at home. As well as having the independence on choosing what they should eat for snack and or lunch that is easy to make. I would love to use this idea in the classroom and create our own cook book based on healthy snacks the students can make at home.

“Jersey Junior Chefs Urged to Help Dish up Recipe Book.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Aug. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-jersey-66478316.

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Jersey junior chefs urged to help dish up recipe book

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Charity Caring Cooks of Jersey marks its 10th anniversary with a new book of children’s recipes.

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In this article talking about gun violence on CNN it talks about the new law in California trying to ban the concealed carry of firearms in places such as libraries, amusements parks, zoos and so on. This law then was blocked in argument that it was unconstitutional. Many continue to defend their progress on gun safety in their state. On the other hand many continue to fight for change in the law due to many deaths. This information can be used on the classroom to inform students on gun safety. As well as informing them who should and should not be in possession of a firearm and what to do if they ever run into them.

Campbell, Josh. “California Law Banning Carrying Concealed Firearms in Many Public Places Is Once Again Blocked.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 Jan. 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/01/07/us/california-concealed-carry-gun-law-blocked/index.html.

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California law banning carrying concealed firearms in many public places is once again blocked | CNN

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A new California gun law banning the concealed carry of firearms in "sensitive places" - including places of worship, public libraries, amusement parks, zoos and sporting events - is once again blocked after a decision Saturday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.