Howdy folks! Gonna do a little twofer here, a general news roundup and a few Iowa-centric COVID news items of interest. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were.
In personal news, one of my old HS classmates has developed symptomatic COVID despite being vaccinated, and was warned by her doctor to be prepared for her immediate family to get it was well even though they are vaccinated (she has a husband and teen daughters). On the other hand, he did tell her it’s very unlikely anyone would develop severe COVID thanks to the vaccines, so if they are symptomatic they will have to power through it like any bad cold or bout of the flu. To me, this just tells us how important it is to get vaccinated. Delta is nothing to screw around with, it’s HIGHLY contagious and even with a vaccine, you may be infected and develop symptoms — the good news being, even if you do get sick, you’re very unlikely to be one of the poor souls who end up in the ICU, or worse, on a ventilator. I trust I don’t have to tell anyone on DKos to go get your shots, but...get your shots.
And on a happier note, I was at my pharmacy today to pick up a prescription and a younger couple (early or maybe mid-20’s, I’d guess) were there to get their first COVID shot. Part of me wants to roll my eyes and say “you know, you COULD have done this months ago,right?” but the less cynical part of me is just happy to see them finally getting the shots and wanted to hug them, and I hope they can navigate the world for the next couple of months now until they hit full protection without getting infected. My county has a pretty high vaccination rate for Iowa (north of 50% of the county population 100% vaccinated), so...fingers crossed that it’s enough to slow the virus down and keep it at a slow burn instead of a wildfire.
Anyway, off to the news (as always, source links at the bottom of the page)...
- Pretty sure most have heard by now, and at least one Front Page diary by the ever-informative Mark Sumner has been published on this, but President Biden has announced that federal employees and government contractors will be required to be vaccinated, or submit to regular (weekly or twice weekly) testing, and be required to mask, social distance from coworkers, may have travel restrictions, etc. This affects about 4 million employees and contractors, though I’m unsure how many of those may already be vaccinated. Biden also announced upcoming requirements for members of the US Armed Forced to be vaccinated, something the military had already announced a month or so back, telling its members to be prepared for mandatory vaccinations to begin in September, though it’s unclear when the mandatory vaccinations will actually begin.
- Biden also announced some additional incentives, including expanded paid leave for workers who take family members to get vaccinated. Biden also urged states to offer $100 incentive to people getting the vaccine and to use American Rescue Plan funding to pay for it.
- Major companies don’t seem to be holding with the GOP’s “But mah FREEDUMBS!” philosophy of uninformed selfishness and general mistaking freedom as something that means one has no responsibility to anyone but themselves. Both Google and Facebook have both issued “mandates” of their own to their US based employees — if you’re returning to the office this fall, you have to be vaccinated. From VOX: “’I hope these steps will give everyone greater peace of mind as offices reopen,’ Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post announcing the requirements. Google is also pushing back the date when it will mandate employees to return to the office from September to October at the soonest, citing concerns about the delta variant. Google also is letting some 20 percent of its employees permanently work from home, and 60 percent work a few days a week in person.”
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Other companies are implementing varying degrees of vaccine mandates as well. Here are a few:
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Netflix announced earlier this week that all casts of its US productions, and staff members who come in contact with them, will be required to be vaccinated.
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BlackRock, a major asset manager, currently already has a policy of only allowing vaccinated staff to return to office work.
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Investment and financial services giant Morgan Stanley required most employees to inform the company of their vaccination status by July 1st, and has banned any unvaccinated employees from entering it’s corporate headquarters.
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Upscale department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue is requiring all employees to be vaccinated.
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The Washington Post is requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of continued employment by the time the newspaper returns its staff to its offices on September 13th.
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Ascension Health, one of the largest non-profit Catholic healthcare systems in the US, is requiring all employees to be vaccinated, whether or not they work directly with patients or if they work remotely. The healthcare network includes 146 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities in 19 states and Washington D.C. The mandate also appears to include affiliated providers.
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Uber has pushed back it’s “return to office” date to October 25th and currently requires masks in it’s offices regardless of vaccine status. All employees must be vaccinated if they want to return to the office by the October date. I’m unable to find any evidence that drivers are required to be vaccinated, however.
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Twitter had begun the process of reopening it’s NYC and San Francisco offices at 50% capacity a couple of weeks ago, but has decided to not only halt that process but to close its office back down for the time being and postpone other office opening.
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Investment bank Goldman Sachs has taken firm measures since June 10th: "If you do not report your vaccine status to Goldman, your ID card will not work to enter the building," a spokesperson for the company told CNN Business. "The entrance of the building is contingent on you reporting your vaccine status," the spokesperson added.
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Unvaccinated employees at Deutsche Bank are being required to answer frequent health and travel questionaires and submit to up to several COVID tests weekly.
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Unvaccinated employees at Citibank (funny how these financial companies seem to get it, isn’t it?) must take at-home rapid tests 3 times per week and upload results to their superiors.
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Bank of American hasn’t shared any specific protocols, other than to say they are “prioritizing” returning vaccinated employees to the office.
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Wells Fargo also has refrained from providing specifics other than they are “collecting vaccination status” from employees.
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Jefferies (yet another investment bank) is allowing only vaccinated employees into its office, and that only after sufficient time for the immunity to have reached full effect.
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And of course the NFL has taken a VERY hardcore stance on vaccines. Minnesota Vikings line coach Rick Dennison got his walking papers on July 23rd for refusing to be vaccinated. The NFL has announced it will be imposing $14,650 fines for each time an unvaccinated player violates COVID protocols, and a $50,000 fine for each time they refuse to be tested. So far, the NFL has had very good vaccine compliance, with 85% of players vaccinated, with 14 teams with rates over 90%. The NFL has also threatened that COVID outbreaks among unvaccinated players on a team could lead to forfeiture of games. However, some of the hardcore holdouts have already Tweeted (and subsequently deleted) rants about “experimental vaccines” and other such foolishness (dude, over 160 million Americans are fully vaccinated, and many millions more worldwide. How much data do you think you frickin’ need?).
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Beginning September 7th, diners who wish to dine indoors at one of NYC’s Union Square dining options will be required to show proof of vaccination, and restaurant staff will be required to be vaccinated as well and will have 45 days to begin that process. CEO Danny Meyer said Thursday on “Squawk Box,” "This is the most logical thing I've ever seen," Meyer said. "I'm not a scientist, but I know how to read data and what I see is that this is a crisis of people who have not been vaccinated, and I feel strong responsibility, on our part as business leaders, to take care of our team and our guests, and that's what we're doing."
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Israel’s Health Minister announced that healthcare providers should begin providing a third shot to Israelis aged 60 and older beginning next week. The country had already been offering a third dose to immunocompromised individuals and is the first country to be offering a third shot to its citizens, although both Hungary and Turkey are about to begin offering booster shots as well.
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The Delta variant is now present in all 50 states, and accounts for 83% of all new COVID cases.
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It’s still early but current data indicates that the vaccines are still pretty effective, and far better than being unvaccinated. Studies have shown efficacy ranges of 67 to 85% for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 72 to 95% for Moderna, and 64 to 96% for Pfizer. Those ranges should narrow considerably in coming weeks as more data is processed and scientists can get a better handle on this.
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Still no definite word on when Pfizer’s vaccine might receive full FDA approval. Earlier this month, the FDA put granted the request “priority review,” which essentially moves the request to the front of the line and cuts a few bits of red tape out the way. But it also means approval could take up to 6 months, pushing it into the beginning of next year. However, experts and anonymous insiders at the FDA have all been fairly consistent in a prediction that the approval process will end up taking “a couple of month” — which, taking them at their word, would put it into September. Moderna’s application for full FDA approval has not been accepted by the FDA yet, apparently because some data or paperwork is lacking in the application.
And now, the Iowa stuff. If you’re interested in what’s going on COVID-wise here in the heartland, read on…
- There are currently 11 COVID outbreaks among staff at long-term living facilities across the state. Iowa’s long-term care facilities have a high vaccination rate among residents, but an appalling and surprisingly low vaccination rate among actual staff — only 12% of such facilities in the state meet the industry standard of having at least 75% of their staff vaccinated.
- Iowa’s Idiot-in-Chief, Governor Kim “Reaper” Reynolds, is blaming migrants on COVID cases rising in the country, instead of, you know, the fact that most Republicans aren’t vaccinated and her own (and that of other GOP governors) incompetence and do-nothing-at-all attitude about controlling the virus. Because the “Party of Personal Responsibility” is all about avoiding actual personal responsibility.
- In the past week, Iowa has had 2,158 new confirmed cases (an almost 55% increase over the previous week) and 13 new deaths. As of Wednesday, there were 106 Iowans hospitalized with COVID, with 39 of those in the ICU, and 14 of those on ventilators.
- In a bizarre decision, Ankeny School District, one of the largest districts in the state, has announced it “may not require” quarantine of students exposed to COVID-positive individuals during the upcoming school year. A spokesperson for the district said this was based on guidance given by the CDC -— in MAY. Guys...you realize it’s the end of July and things are changing, right? RIGHT???
- Experts are expressing concern over the Iowa State Fair, expected to attract over 1 million visitors from around the country and many vendors and performers. The ISF announced earlier this month there would be no distancing or masking requirements or building capacity restrictions anywhere at the fair.
““Unfortunately our current leadership has turned their back on science and turned their back on what’s available to us to fight this pandemic and leaving Iowans struggling against what could be prevented,” said Dr. Megan Srinivas, an Iowa-based infectious disease physician nationally recognized for her research, which includes COVID-19.
She said people have the misconception that being outdoors ensures safety, when the virus actually can spread in large dense crowds such as state fairs and large concert venues.”
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