Daily Briefing – 448
OSHA Withdraws Vaccination and Testing ETS
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is withdrawing the vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard issued on Nov. 5, 2021, to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers with 100 or more employees from workplace exposure to coronavirus. The withdrawal is effective January 26, 2022.
Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, the agency is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule. The agency is prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard. OSHA strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by COVID-19 in the workplace.
CDC Study: Omicron Appears to Cause Less Severe Disease
The omicron variant is on average causing less severe disease than surges with previous variants of the virus, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study finds. The ratio of hospital admissions to cases and ratio of deaths to cases were lower during the omicron wave than during the delta variant peak last year or the winter of 2020-2021, the study found.
The omicron variant caused 27 hospital admissions per 1,000 cases, the study found, lower than 68 per 1,000 cases in the winter of 2020-2021 or 78 per 1,000 during the delta wave. Similarly, the nine deaths per 1,000 cases during omicron was less than the 16 per 1,000 cases last winter or the 13 per 1,000 during the delta surge.
Mass(k) Confusion: State Judge Overturns New York Mask Mandate
A New York judge ruled Monday that the state’s mask mandate can’t be enforced, after it was reinstituted by Gov. Kathy Hochul over concerns about a winter surge of coronavirus cases. State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker, based in Nassau County, said in his decision that the state Department of Health didn’t have the legal authority to implement the mandate, and that it was up to the state Legislature to do so if needed.
Rademaker’s ruling strikes down the Department of Health masking rule, which also applies to schools, according to an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case. However, New York City’s Department of Education responded to the ruling Monday night, saying in a statement that the decision has “no immediate affect” on city schools, as mandatory masking has been DOE policy since before the state adopted it. this is likely the case for most Districts in the State who wish to continue mandates. Private business owners can continue to require masks at their facilities, but under this ruling are no loner mandated to do so.
Judge Grants Stay in NY Mask Mandate Case, Keeping it in Effect Pending Appeal
A New York Appellate Judge granted a stay in the state’s lawsuit over the COVID-19 face mask mandate, meaning it remains in place while case is appealed — and schools must enforce it. New York State had quickly filed an appeal after a Supreme Court judge in Nassau Count ruled that the New York’s mask mandate couldn’t be enforced.
Some districts told parents that masks in classes were optional Tuesday, until the appeal was formally filed, leading to confusion in nearly many districts. Following the hearing where the stay was granted, Judge Robert Miller reserved judgement and said a formal ruling would be forthcoming. The appellate court hearing on the appeal of the judge’s ruling has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday in Downtown Brooklyn.
US COVID – Hospitalizations Continue to Fall
Hospitalizations with Covid-19 in the U.S. continued to decline, following the downward trend in new cases of the virus identified in the country since the middle of this month. The seven-day average of the total number of people in U.S. hospitals with confirmed or suspected coronavirus declined for the fourth-consecutive day to 156,042 on Monday, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus had driven case numbers in the U.S. to record highs at the start of January and hospitalizations with the disease it causes have in recent weeks exceeded the number when Delta was dominant. But some early hot spots where the new variant took hold in Europe and the U.S. have seen steep falls in cases. Scientists are still unsure about the reasons behind these changes of direction, which in some cases have been followed by renewed rises.
NYS Vaccine and COVID Update – Cases Per 100k (7-Day Average) Declining in All Regions
Vaccine Stats as of January 25:
One Vaccine Dose
- 87.1% of all New Yorkers – 16,125,431 (plus 11,942 from a day earlier).
- In the Hudson Valley 1,675,197 (plus 1,662).
Fully Vaccinated
- 73.7% of all New Yorkers – 14,302,862 (plus 11,045).
- In the Hudson Valley – 1,458,351 (plus 1,434).
Boosters Given
- All New Yorkers – 5,729,100
- In the Hudson Valley – 684,002
The Governor updated COVID data through January 25. There were 158 COVID related deaths for a total reported of 65,193.
Hospitalizations:
- Patients Currently in Hospital statewide: 9,854.
7 Day Average Positivity Rate – Cases per 100K population
- Statewide 9.69% – 112.48 positive cases per 100,00 population
- Mid-Hudson: 9.62% – 95.18 positive cases per 100,00 population
Useful Websites:
- Read the press release
- Visit the NYS COVID-19 Data Hub
Is a Universal Coronavirus Vaccine on the Horizon?
The Army recently announced that its pan-coronavirus vaccine, the spike ferritin nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine (aka SpFN) had completed Phase 1 of human trials with positive results. Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of infectious diseases at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and co-inventor of SpFN, told Defense One, “We’re testing our vaccine against all the different variants, including omicron,” the strain causing breakthrough infections even in people who have received booster shots.
SpFN still needs to undergo Phase 2 and 3 human trials, though, to test its efficacy and safety in comparison to current treatments, Modjarrad said.
Pfizer Begins Testing Omicron Vaccine in People
The drugmakers said Tuesday they began enrolling adults ages 18 to 55 in the U.S. and South Africa to examine the safety, tolerability and immune response generated by the vaccine if it is given either as a primary series or as a booster dose. One subject has already received the shot, Pfizer said.
Initial study results are expected in the first half of the year. The drugmaker could ask U.S. regulators for authorization and begin distribution in March, should the Omicron-targeted shot prove to work safely, Chief Executive Albert Bourla has said. If it is needed the vaccine would still be able to manufacture 4 billion doses of the shot this year, the companies said.
Commerce Dept Survey: Chip Shortage Leaves U.S. Companies Dangerously Low on Semiconductors
U.S. manufacturers and other companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory for key chips, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, citing the results of a new survey. Since September, the Commerce Department has sought detailed industry data from the major companies in the semiconductor supply chain. Its report was based on a survey of companies, including material and equipment providers; semiconductor manufacturers; and automotive, industrial and healthcare companies that need chips for their products.
In 2019, companies typically maintained 40 days of inventory for key chips, according to the Commerce Department report. Now for the same chips—defined as 160 products that companies identified as being the most challenging to acquire—companies are operating with fewer than five days of inventory, the report said.
Intel Confirms $20B Wafer Fab Cluster project in Ohio
gov. Mike DeWine and Intel have confirmed the company’s plans to build a massive new semiconductor manufacturing complex in Ohio. Construction will begin later this year on a pair of factories in the Columbus area and is scheduled to be complete in 2025. According to state officials, the project will cost $20 billion, employ 3,000 workers, and support jobs for 17,000 people in fields like construction, engineering, entertainment, and restaurants.
Intel says it eventually plans to expand the project. When it’s fully built out in 10 years, it could cost up to $100 billion, which the company says would make it one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world. Workers at the new plant will make an average of $135,000 a year, according to state officials.
Survey: Hiring Tops List of Small-Business Struggles
Almost every small business owner in a Goldman Sachs survey is having trouble hiring — and two-thirds think the federal government has done too little to ease their hiring, supply-chain and inflation worries. Participants in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, representing 47 states. 58% were women.
- By far, finding and retaining employees was seen as the biggest problem facing small business, with supply chain issues and inflation far behind.
- Nevertheless, 73% of small business owners said they’re optimistic about the financial trajectory of their businesses this year.
Joe Wall, national director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, told Axios: “This new data clearly shows that the economic headwinds created by the pandemic are stronger than ever — and keep hitting Main Street hardest.”
Can Skills-Based Training Slow the Great Resignation?
HR leaders and talent recruiters are bearing the brunt of creating a thriving workplace culture during COVID-19 and the Great Resignation. It’s a real ordeal and the numbers paint a grim picture: 38 million workers quit their jobs through October of last year and more than 500,000 new LLCs were registered in 2021 alone.
But there is a way to address the historic HR dilemma: By adopting a more skills-based approach to hiring and retaining talent, HR leaders can meet the expectations of a rapidly changing workforce. This means that HR leaders must address how they approach the foundation, technology and mindset of a new skills marketplace, said Mark Stelzner, founder and managing principal at IA HR and a co-presenter of the webinar.
IBM Reports 6% Revenue Growth in Fourth Quarter
IBM shares jumped as much as 7% in extended trading but later lost most of their gains Monday after the software and services company said revenue climbed 6% in the fourth quarter, surpassing expectations.
Here’s how the company did:
- Earnings: $3.35 per share, adjusted, vs. $3.30 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $16.70 billion, vs. $15.96 billion, vs. as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
During the period, IBM spun out is managed infrastructure services business into Kyndryl. For IBM’s continuing operations, revenue rose 6% from a year earlier, the company said a statement. Part of the growth comes from sales to Kyndryl.
Sheldon Silver, Disgraced Former NY Assembly Speaker, Dies at 77
Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful politicians in the state for decades before being ousted and sent to prison on corruption charges, died Monday in federal custody. He was 77. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Silver’s death, but did not share a cause of death, which the agency said would be determined by the medical examiner.
He was elected Assembly speaker in 1994, a powerful position that put him on equal footing with the governor and state Senate leader when it came to making key decisions about annual budgets or major legislation. He became known as an inscrutable and stubborn negotiator, blocking proposals so often he was sometimes called “Dr. No.” Some of his obstructionist reputation had to do with being the lone Democrat at the negotiating table during Republican Gov. George Pataki’s three terms, during which time the GOP also controlled the state Senate. But not all of it.
White House Takes Action to Attract and Retain STEM Talent in the United States
On January 21, 2022, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security jointly announced a flurry of new actions and policy changes relating to various visa classifications that open new potential pathways and expand on existing policy guidance for individuals who are studying/have studied or are working in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). These announcements include changes to J-1 visas, F-1 visa and 0-A1 visas.
While ultimately the true impact of these changes will be in how this new guidance is actually applied by USCIS officers in the field, the overall tenor of these modifications suggests that the path to an NIW may be a bit smoother for individuals with education, training, or expertise in a STEM field, and the added language above in the USCIS Policy Manual offers NIW requestors some persuasive arguments to make in NIW petitions going forward.
New York Democrats Will Likely Draw Their Own District Lines After Independent Commission Fails
It looks like gerrymandering will make a triumphant return to New York. The state’s new commission tasked with drawing legislative lines has called it quits without any new maps to send to lawmakers. That means it’s now up to the state Legislature to draw lines for their own districts, as well as for Congress, just like before the so-called reforms were introduced.
The five Democratic members of the Independent Redistricting Commission released a statement on Monday saying that they had been unable to meet with their Republican colleagues to figure out a compromise between their two partisan sets of maps. The commission had two weeks to draw new lines after lawmakers rejected both sets of maps it sent on Jan. 10, and that time officially runs out today.
South Korea’s GDP Growth Climbs to 11-year High
South Korea’s economy expanded by 4% in 2021, the fastest pace in 11 years, helped by a jump in exports and construction activity, tempering declines in capital investment and a slow recovery in the coronavirus-hit service sectors. Record exports drove the rebound but swathes of the economy have fallen behind. Jobs are still vanishing across manufacturing and service sectors, a reminder that liberal President Moon Jae-in’s promises to boost employment have not materialized.
The BOK expects GDP to grow 3.0% this year as Asia’s fourth-largest economy benefits from strength in semiconductor exports and increased public spending, though record domestic COVID-19 cases this week are a threat to consumption.
