Dily Briefing – 273

Post: Mar. 29, 2021

New York Expands Covid Vaccine Eligibility – Aged 30 Plus Today, All Adults Starting April 6

New York is expanding its Covid vaccine eligibility to everyone 30 and older beginning Tuesday, followed by all residents 16 and older on April 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.

“Today we take a monumental step forward in the fight to beat COVID,” Cuomo said in a statement. “As we continue to expand eligibility, New York will double down on making the vaccine accessible for every community to ensure equity, particularly for communities of color who are too often left behind.”

COVID Update

Governor Cuomo issued a press release yesterday morning providing an overview of New York’s COVID-19 tracking data from Sunday March 28th. There were 57 COVID-19 deaths.

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

Hospitalizations

Patients Currently in Hospital statewide: 4,575
Hospitalizations Mid-Hudson Region: 546

ICU Beds In Use (All Uses)

Occupied ICU Beds Statewide: 4,002
Occupied ICU Beds Mid-Hudson Region: 388

Other Data

Statewide Positivity Rate: 3.46%
Mid-Hudson Positivity Rate: 4.80%

Useful Websites:

NYS Vaccine Update – 9 Million Doses, Eligibility Expanded

Governor Cuomo yesterday announced a new expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in New York. Beginning Tuesday, March 30 at 8 a.m., all New Yorkers 30 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Beginning April 6, universal eligibility goes into effect and all New Yorkers 16 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine.

As of 11 am Monday 5,898,278 (plus 74,960 from a day earlier) New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 3,359,196 are fully vaccinated (Plus 97,386). In the Hudson Valley 591,167 (plus 8,028) have at least one dose and 297,557 (plus 6,725) are fully vaccinated.

Biden Admin Is Weighing Vaccine Passport Rollout

The Biden administration has been considering how to implement a complicated and ethically fraught program, commonly referred to as a “vaccine passport,” as other countries, private interests, and nongovernmental organizations do the same.

The Post reports that the Department of Health and Human Services has been leading the push, which will require an immense level of coordination between government agencies, businesses requiring vaccine passports, and companies that create the services. White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients is in charge of the process; he reportedly intends to brief governors on the plan in the coming week.

CDC Director Describes Feeling of ‘Impending Doom’ – Urges Covid-19 Precautions

CDC chief Rochelle Walensky said Monday that the most recent data shows the seven-day average growing to about 60,000 cases a day, which she said was a 10% increase compared with the prior seven-day period. She said hospitalizations were up to 4,800 admissions in the seven-day average, compared with 4,600 admissions in the prior seven-day average.

She said she has a feeling of “impending doom” with Covid-19 cases rising recently in the U.S., as Biden administration officials urged Americans to continue taking precautions against the virus.

NAM Economy Report: Manufacturing Contributed $2.35 Trillion in Value-Added Output to GDP

The U.S. economy grew 4.3% at the annual rate in the fourth quarter. Overall, real GDP was boosted by business investment, but consumer spending, particularly for goods, was held back by rising COVID-19 cases and renewed restrictions in many areas. The U.S. economy is expected to rebound in 2021, especially as more Americans get vaccinated and market participants resume some semblance of normalcy in their actions. The current forecast is for 6.8% annual growth in 2021.

Monday Economic Report 0329 2021

Traffic in Suez Canal Channel Resumes After Stranded Ship Refloated

A 1,300-foot, 220,000-ton container ship that has been blocking traffic in the Suez Canal for nearly a week is finally free and once again underway, onboard tracking sites and livestreamed video from the scene indicate.

The successful effort to free the ship means at least 369 vessels backed up waiting to transit the canal, including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels, can now move, Rabie said, according to Reuters.

Xinjiang Cotton: Western Clothes Brands Vanish as Backlash Grows

Several major brands including H&M, Nike, Burberry, Adidas and Converse, among others have expressed concern over allegations that members of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority group are being used as forced labor. Some of these companies’ online shops are blocked and their stores have vanished from some digital maps. It comes after several Western countries imposed sanctions on China.

The challenge for foreign brands has always been about how to sell your stuff to China’s 1.4 billion at the same time as satisfying your global customers’ growing demands to get your ethics right.

Tai: U.S. Isn’t Ready to Lift China Tariffs

The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. In her first interview since Senate confirmation, Ms. Tai said she recognized that the tariffs can exact a toll on U.S. businesses and consumers, though proponents have said they also help shield companies from subsidized foreign competition.

Blinken: Aspects of U.S.-China Ties are ‘Increasingly Adversarial’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday he sees “increasingly adversarial” aspects to the United States’ relationship with China. “There are clearly increasingly adversarial aspects to the relationship, there are certainly competitive ones,” Blinken told CNN, adding that there were also areas of cooperation between the two countries. The United States on Saturday condemned China’s sanctions against two U.S. religious rights officials and a Canadian lawmaker.

Webinar: How to Respond to OSHA’s COVID Enforcement

Manufacturers now find themselves in the crosshairs of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) amped-up enforcement of its COVID-19 guidelines and need to take immediate action to avoid the potential flood of citations and penalties expected to result.

Council Associate Member Walden Engineering presented a webinar on this topic March 26th providing tips and resources to Council member firms.

Presentation slides can be found here

Boeing Resumes 787 Dreamliner Deliveries

Boeing delivered the first 787 Dreamliner long-range aircraft on March 26, after a five-month pause prompted by the discovery of some structural flaws in several jets. A 787-9 jet was delivered to United Airlines and a second is expected to be delivered there soon.

In October 2020, Boeing stopped deliveries of 787s following the report that the Federal Aviation Administration had initiated a historical review of quality-control issues at the North Charleston, S.C., assembly operation. At that time, Boeing grounded eight aircraft which had been recently completed and undertook inspections of more 787s for signs of structural defects.

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