The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program provide nutritious meals to school-age children. USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is designed to extend the reach of these programs by allowing schools in low-income areas to provide free school meals to all students at no cost to families. CEP has been shown to increase school meal participation, nutritional intake, academic achievement, and attendance in previous research studies. This study aims to examine the impact of long-term CEP participation on student weight outcomes. Nurse-measured height and weight data for school years 2013-14 to 2019-20 were collected from 141 K-12 public schools in four low-income cities. School-level prevalence of obesity was calculated from students’ heights and weights using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol. CEP participation for each school year was obtained from the state Department of Education. Schools in the sample began participating in CEP at different times yielding varying numbers of years of CEP exposure over the study period. Multivariable analyses examined the relationship between school CEP exposure and the prevalence of obesity, controlling for school-level covariates. Multivariable analyses showed that for every additional year of CEP participation, the school-level prevalence of obesity was 0.4% lower (p=0.018). The regression-adjusted obesity prevalence for schools that never participated in CEP was 28.0%, while the obesity prevalence for schools with 6 years of CEP participation was 25.4%. The lower prevalence of obesity in CEP-participating schools was primarily driven by elementary schools. These results suggest that the benefits of CEP participation can cumulate over time, significantly reducing school-level obesity prevalence over time.

Developing a vaccine during the midst of a pandemic requires a careful balance between <br/>speed, safety, and efficacy. For the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. implemented Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the timeline for vaccine development. The FDA also imposed specific guidelines for granting Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). As of April 1st, 2021, Operation Warp Speed resulted in three different vaccines receiving EUA, all of which are currently being administered to the public. However, the rapid production and changes in the approval process intensified public scrutiny on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. This thesis analyzes the differences in fast-tracking a vaccine, which consolidated the authorization process into months rather than years, and delineates the main concerns of the public regarding the COVID-19 vaccine through a media analysis. Although the EUA raised questions about the safety of the vaccine, polls indicate that most Americans would still be willing to receive the vaccine.