Florida mask and other Covid-related developments

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A Florida school district has received cash from President Joe Biden’s administration to make up for state pay cuts imposed over a board’s vote for a student anti-coronavirus mask mandate.

Alachua County school Superintendent Carlee Simon said in a news release Thursday the district has received $148,000 through a U.S. Department of Education program.

Simon says Alachua, where Gainesville and the University of Florida are located, is the first district in the nation to receive such a grant.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama has averaged more than 100 deaths a day from COVID-19 over the last week, statistics showed Thursday, giving it the nation’s highest death rate over the period even as hospitalizations linked to the coronavirus pandemic continue to decline. ...

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Board of Education has voted to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend in-person school.

The move late Wednesday makes Oakland Unified the first school district in Northern California to adopt a vaccine requirement.  ...

HELENA, Mont. — Medical providers and Montana residents with compromised immune systems are challenging a state law that prevents employers from mandating vaccines for employees. ...

LONDON — The pharmaceutical company Novavax and the Serum Institute of India say they’ve submitted an application to the World Health Organization for their coronavirus vaccine to be granted an emergency use listing. ...