Daily Briefing – 253

Post: Mar. 1, 2021

COVID Update – One Year Since COVID Found in New York

Governor Cuomo issued a press release yesterday morning providing an overview of New York’s COVID-19 tracking data from Sunday February 28th. “It’s been exactly one year since we first identified COVID in New York…. It’s critical that New Yorkers continue to practice safe behaviors—washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing—while we’re still working to vaccinate a large portion of the population. This has been an incredibly long 365 days and there are more ahead, but New Yorkers have already shown unprecedented perseverance and toughness throughout this pandemic.”

Hospitalization tracking data for the Mid-Hudson region and the rest of the State are below.

Hospitalizations

Patients Currently in Hospital statewide: 5,307
Hospitalizations Mid-Hudson Region: 556

ICU Beds In Use (All Uses)

Occupied ICU Beds Statewide: 4,102
Occupied ICU Beds Mid-Hudson Region: 396

Other Data

Statewide Transmission Rate (R0): .82
Statewide Positivity Rate: 3.08%
Mid-Hudson Positivity Rate: 4.16

Useful Websites:

NYS Vaccine Update – 4.5 Million Vaccine Doses Administered

Governor Cuomo yesterday announced over 4.5 million first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to date. Additionally, 122,455 doses were administered over the past 24 hours. The total week 11 federal vaccine allocation has been delivered to providers for administration. As of 11:00 AM today, New York providers have administered 92 percent of first doses. The week 12 allocation from the federal government will begin arriving mid-week.

As of 11 am Monday, New York’s health care distribution sites have received 3,206,430 first doses and administered 92 percent or 2,954,858 first dose vaccinations. In total the state has administered and 88 percent of first and second doses (4,583,616) of the 5,229,950 received. In the Mid-Hudson Region a cumulative total of 507,145 first and second doses have been distributed, 413,389 administered (82 percent).

US Vaccination Rollout – Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Rollout, Cases Tick Up

Johnson & Johnson has begun shipping the first nearly four million doses of its newly-authorized COVID-19 vaccine across the country, officials said Monday. Johnson & Johnson’s addition to the vaccine arsenal will be limited at first, but company officials expect to scale up production in the coming months. Gorsky said the company is committed to delivering 100 million doses by June and “up to a billion” by the end of 2021.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that progress against the pandemic number may be stalling. The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is leveling off at a concerningly high number, she said, following weeks of declining cases and deaths.

ISM: U.S. Manufacturing Sector at Three-Year High, Cost Pressures Mounting

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday its index of national factory activity rebounded to a reading of 60.8 last month from 58.7 in January. That was the highest level since February 2018. Manufacturing, which accounts for 11.9% of the U.S. economy. The increase was despite a global semiconductor chip shortage, which has hurt production at automobile plants.

The survey’s measure of prices paid by manufacturers jumped to a reading of 86.0, the highest since July 2008, from 82.1 in January.

Manufacturing Economy Report – Durable Goods Orders and Personal Income Soar

New orders for durable goods jumped 3.4% in January, the strongest monthly increase since July 2020 and another sign that growth in the manufacturing sector remains very robust. On a year-over-year basis, new durable goods orders have soared 6.3% since January 2020, or 8.5% with transportation equipment excluded.

Personal income soared 10.0% in January, buoyed by stimulus checks and increased unemployment insurance from legislation enacted at year’s end. It was the largest monthly increase since April 2020. Overall, personal income has jumped 13.1% over the past 12 months.

Monday Economic Report 0301 2021

January Steel Production Up Worldwide

Global steel production increased slightly in January to 162.9 million metric tons, just 1.27% more than the tonnage reported for December 2020, and 4.8% more than the January 2020 total. The January data supplied by the World Steel Assn. showed a small decrease from December output in China, but better month-to-month results in the other large steelmaking nations.

U.S. raw steel production during January totaled 6,900 metric tons (7,605.9 short tons), +7.24% higher than World Steel’s reported total for December 2020, but -9.9% lower than U.S. January 2020 tonnage.

German Factory Activity At Three-Year High in February

Higher demand from China, the United States and Europe drove growth in German factory activity to its highest level in more than three years in February, brightening the outlook for Europe’s largest economy, a survey showed on Monday.

IHS Markit’s Final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about a fifth of the economy, jumped to 60.7 from 57.1 in January. It was the highest reading since January 2018 and came in slightly better than the initial “flash” figure of 60.6.

China’s Economic Recovery Slowed More than Expected in February

China’s economic recovery continued in February, but at a slower-than-expected pace, with all major sectors posting their lowest growth rates since last spring. The data encompasses the Lunar New Year holiday period, during which economic activity usually slows.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a survey of sentiment among factory owners in the world’s second-largest economy – fell to 50.6 last month from 51.3 in January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). February’s reading was below the median prediction of 51.1 in a Bloomberg poll of analysts, and was the lowest since February 2020, when the index hit a record low of 29.6 at the height of the coronavirus lockdowns.

WHO: Global Cooperation Needed to End Pandemic

Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to global recovery efforts, and countries must stop pursuing deals with vaccine manufacturers that will limit supply in other regions, should waive intellectual property rules and should encourage pharmaceutical companies to share vaccine knowledge to help speed up production, says World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. UNICEF has announced it will supply low-income countries with syringes and safety boxes to help them prepare for vaccination drives.

Tech Tips to Help Score a Covid-19 Vaccine Appointment at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and More

The Wall Street Journal’s Tech reported Joanna Stern offers tips to help you get that elusive vaccine appointment. The guide is not for cutting the line. Her advice will help book appointments for people whose states have deemed them eligible for Covid-19 vaccination.

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