Daily Briefing – 293

Post: Apr. 27, 2021

CDC Issues New Outdoor Mask Guidance

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers. And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.

Governor Cuomo announced that New York State will follow the new CDC outdoor mask guidelines.

Vaccine Hesitancy Poses Risk to Herd Immunity, U.S. Health Officials Say

Top health officials warned that vaccine hesitancy posed a risk to getting enough Americans inoculated to stop the spread of Covid-19, and they encouraged individuals to get vaccinated.

“If we’re going to be able to put Covid-19 behind us, we need to have all Americans take part in getting us to that point,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

NYS Vaccine Update – All State Mass Sites To Accept Walk-ins Starting Tomorrow 4/29

Governor Cuomo yesterday announced that beginning Thursday, April 29, all New York State mass vaccination sites will be Open to eligible New Yorkers for walk-in vaccination on a first come first serve basis for all. The walk-in appointments are reserved for first doses only with second doses to be scheduled automatically after administration of the initial shot. Additionally, all vaccine providers are encouraged to likewise allow walk-in appointments and for eligible New Yorkers.

As of Tuesday morning 8,908,158 (plus 61,138 from a day earlier) New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 6,362,884 are fully vaccinated (Plus 92,851). In the Hudson Valley 948,357 (plus 7,141) have at least one dose and 650,853 (plus 10,023) are fully vaccinated.

NYS COVID Update

The Governor updated COVID data through Monday April 26th. There were 26 COVID related deaths for a total of 41,875 Hospitalization tracking data for the Mid-Hudson region and the rest of the State are below.

Hospitalizations

Patients Currently in Hospital statewide: 3,184
Hospitalizations Mid-Hudson Region: 313

ICU Beds In Use (All Uses)

Occupied ICU Beds Statewide: 4,030
Occupied ICU Beds Mid-Hudson Region: 387

Seven Day Average Positivity Rate:

Statewide 2.06%
Mid-Hudson: 2.35%

Useful Websites:

US Vaccine Rollout – Pace Continues to Slow

The US has distributed 291 million doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and administered 231 million doses. Daily doses administered continue to decrease, down from a high of 3.2 million (April 11) to 2.6 million. Approximately 1.4 million people are achieving fully vaccinated status per day.

A total of 141 million individuals have received at least 1 dose of the vaccine, equivalent to 43% of the entire US population and 54% of all adults. Of those, 96 million (29% of the total population; 37% of adults) are fully vaccinated. As of April 19, all US states expanded vaccination eligibility to all individuals aged 16 years and older, but the pace of vaccinations is beginning to taper off. Even with everyone aged 16 years and older now eligible and with sufficient supply, progress toward herd immunity will slow considerably over the coming weeks for a variety of reasons. Some reasons include vaccine opposition and hesitancy, barriers to accessing the vaccine, and dwindling unvaccinated population.

Senate Majority to Take Action on Executive Orders to Continue Reopening New York State

Tomorrow, the Senate Democratic Majority will move to suspend several executive orders placed by the Governor at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in these repeals are food sales in bars and restaurants will no longer be required with alcoholic beverage purchases. The Senate Majority will continue to review existing directives that can be removed as session continues.

The Senate Majority is taking steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions as New York continues recovering and New Yorkers get vaccinated and regain a sense of normalcy as the state reopens. The repeal of these directives will enhance the quality of life for volunteers, patrons, and business owners.

EU Sues AstraZeneca

As forecast last week, the European Commission has initiated legal proceedings against AstraZeneca over the delivery of just a third of its contractually agreed vaccine volume to the EU. Meanwhile, Politico reports that Deloitte warned the Belgian government back in August—before the EU’s AstraZeneca contract was signed—that the contract included no harsh consequences for failure to deliver what was promised.

Politicians and Political Experts React to New York Census Results

Losing a congressional seat means the map of New York’s districts will have to be redrawn. How that will look remains to be seen but that power will now fall to the state legislature which has a Democratic supermajority. “So it’s a law made by the Assembly and by the Senate. They need to agree on the terms of the redistribution of seats, and then Governor Cuomo needs to sign whatever bill is sent to him by the legislature,” Gerald Gamm, a political science professor at the University of Rochester, said.

“That might even mean even though New York, a heavily Democratic State, has lost a seat. It might even mean that legislators and Albany figure out a way to merge two Republican seats, push two incumbent Republican members of Congress into the same district, so that ultimately the state doesn’t lose the Democratic member of Congress.”

Nearly 1.5 Million Mothers Are Still Missing From the Workforce

In March 2021, almost 1.5 million fewer moms of school-aged children were actively working than in February 2020, according to Misty Heggeness, principal economist and senior adviser at the Census Bureau. During the depths of last year’s economic crisis, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show, women’s participation in the workforce fell to levels not seen since the mid-1980s.

Manufacturing Economy Report – U.S. Manufacturing Activity Expanded at Record Pace in April

The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI expanded at a record pace in April, buoyed by new orders growth that was the best since April 2010 and by exports rising at an all-time high for the series. Output and hiring strengthened for the month, but lingering supply chain disruptions in the sector limited production growth. Yet, raw material costs soared once again, growing at the fastest rate since the question was added in May 2007.

The good news was not limited to U.S. manufacturing. There were also all-time highs reported for the U.S. services sector and for manufacturing in the Eurozone , according to preliminary survey data from IHS Markit. Outside the Eurozone, the United Kingdom’s manufacturing sector expanded at rates not seen since July 1994.

Kabbage Survey: Business Recovery is Happening

Kabbage recently released a survey it conducted around business recovery progress. One key insight revealing 57% of small businesses are now fully open as pandemic shutdowns ease. It also has other interesting findings as it tracks recovery in several industries (manufacturing, restaurant, retail, construction, healthcare, etc.) key business performance metrics including headcount, total revenue, profit, online strategies, as well as future outlooks, across all-sized small businesses.

Kabbage co-founder Kathryn Petralia tells IndustryWeek, according to its Small Business Recovery Report, 49% of small businesses in professional and business services, including the manufacturing industry, say their businesses are now fully open as pandemic shutdowns ease.

DLA Prepared to Increase Overseas Vaccine Distribution as DOD Allotment Grows

The Defense Logistics Agency is helping military health officials prepare for a surge in COVID-19 vaccinations available to the Defense Department starting this month. The department expects to begin receiving about 390,000 doses weekly — up from an average of 155,500 a week — with DLA continuing to receive, pack, ship and track vaccines for individuals outside the continental US or deployed with the Navy, said Army Col. Anthony Bostick, head of DLA’s operational planning team for vaccine operations.

NAM: OSHA Sends COVID ETS to COVID-19 White House for Review

On Monday evening, OSHA formally moved its proposed COVID-19 emergency temporary standard to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for final review. This move signals that OSHA has finished writing the ETS and the standard is in the final stages of review before it is issued. In a letter to OSHA Acting Administrator Jim Frederick, the NAM outlines four major recommendations in the event that OSHA issues an ETS:

A standard should align with guidance from federal health officials and should respond quickly to evolving CDC guidance, especially as more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine;
A standard should recognize the vast differences in physical characteristics of workplaces;
Any new employer mandates should consider the nationwide supply and manufacturing capability of COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment; and
OSHA should consider good-faith efforts of employers to comply with a potential ETS

Read the Letter:

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