Tech:NYC Digest: August 5

Tech:NYC Digest: August 5

August 05, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Thursday, August 5, 2021

In today’s digest, vaccinations are on the rise with new mandates and incentives, Microsoft announces vaccine mandate and Amazon pushes RTO to 2022, and the annual Summer Streets festival returns beginning this weekend.

  • ☀️ Programming note: Tech:NYC is observing summer Fridays for the month of August, so no newsletter tomorrow. We’ll see you on Monday!

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

By the numbers:

  • New positive cases statewide: 3,644 (+529)

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,955 (+366)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 5 (-2)

  • NYC Positivity Rates: 

    • NYS reports: 2.5 percent (+0.1 percent)

    • NYC reports: 3.3 percent (+0.2 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 75.9 percent

    • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 63.5 percent

(For fuller breakdowns, find the state’s numbers here and the city’s numbers here.)

Today’s latest:

  • Since NYC announced it would begin enforcing stricter vaccine requirements, the city has already seen a more than 40 percent jump — up to about 80,000 — in the number of people getting their first dose compared to the first week in July. (New York Post) The city is currently administering more than 11,000 first doses per day after months of steep declines.

  • New York is launching Excelsior Pass Plus as an update to the original vaccination verification app ahead of indoor mandates coming to NYC and other localities.

    • The app’s original version expired after six months, but was extended to 365 days in May. To get that extension, some users will need to reload their vaccine card. (Gothamist)

    • The updated version verifies credentials through VeriFLY, which will allow New Yorkers to use the app to fly internationally to a growing list of countries. Learn more here.

  • New data show that the Moderna vaccine remains 93 percent effective six months after the second dose, but company executives said today they expect booster shots will be necessary by this fall to counteract risk associated with the Delta variant. (New York Times)

  • A new study sounded the alarm that COVID-19 cases in children are up 84 percent in the past week. (New York Post) Children under 12 aren’t yet eligible to receive the vaccine, raising concerns as more than one million NYC public school students are set to return to classrooms next month. Here’s a good guide on what parents and teachers need to know about the Delta variant in schools. 

  • Is this the first major event cancellation since NYC’s reopening? The New York International Auto Show won’t go on in two weeks due to the Delta variant. (CNBC)

  • The Meatpacking District will become largely pedestrian-only after the neighborhood's BID decided to keep its Open Streets program permanent. (Time Out New York) Planter barricades are being installed at multiple intersections to keep cars (but not bicycles) out.

In other reading:

  • Where to Buy N95s, KN95s, and Surgical-Style Masks You Can Trust (Wirecutter)

  • Should I Mask? Can I Travel? What About Hugs? How Delta Is Changing Advice for the Vaccinated (New York Times)

  • Should you cancel travel plans because of the coronavirus’s delta variant? Ask these questions. (Washington Post)

Microsoft has become the latest company to announce a vaccine mandate: beginning in September, the company will require proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors, and guests who plan to visit any Microsoft campus. (CNN)

  • The company also pushed back the full reopening of its US offices to “no earlier than October 4.” Offices were previously expected to open fully the week following Labor Day.

  • Staff who are caregivers to immunocompromised people or parents with children too young to get the vaccine will be able to work from home until January. (The Verge)

Meanwhile, Amazon announced today that it is pushing its return to office date back to at least January 3, 2022. (Wall Street Journal) And Google says it has approved 85 percent of employee requests to relocate or remain remote. (Bloomberg)

What’s still unclear in Microsoft’s policy — or really, those of most tech companies that have announced new mandates recently — is exactly how verification would work. 

  • An "I got the shot" sticker isn’t going to cut it, and those digital self-attestation forms aren’t adequate either, because they rely on an honor system and aren’t actually documents of proof.

This represents a unique opportunity for HR vendors, who are adding new solutions to existing products that help companies track and secure vaccine information. 

  • ADP’s ReturnSafe platform now helps employers keep track of employee vaccination status and manage a mixed-immunity workforce, as well as track employee sentiment with surveys.

  • Workday allows customers to build a vaccine management plan for both remote and on-site workers.

  • Envoy’s office check-in tool will verify employee and guest health status, monitor on-site capacity numbers, and handle desk and conference room bookings.

Our take: The prevailing challenge is there’s still no standard of proof, and widely accepted “vaccine passports” may never materialize. But the tech sector has been leading the way on virtually every other pandemic response issue — here’s to hoping we figure this out, too!

In other reading:

  • Will Remote Workers Get Left Behind in the Hybrid Office? (New York Times)

  • What it’s like going to an in-person work conference during Delta (Axios)

  • Return to Work? Not With Child Care Still in Limbo, Some Parents Say (New York Times)

  • Business travel might be going out of style (Axios)

  • Correlated, a New York-based maker of sales software, raised $8.3 million in seed funding from NextView Ventures, Harrison Metal, Apollo Projects, Brian Long, Andrew Jones, Ben Darnell, and Pete Kazanjy. (TechCrunch)

  • Dataiku, a New York-based data management startup, raised $400 million in Series E funding at a $4.6 billion valuation led by Tiger Global, with ICONIQ Growth, CapitalG, FirstMark Capital, Battery Ventures, Snowflake Ventures, Dawn Capital, Insight Partners, Eurazeo, Lightrock, and Olivier Pomel also participating. (TechCrunch)

  • Kensho Health, a New York City-based wellness company, raised $3.5 million in seed funding. KB Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Company Ventures and Gaingels. (Insider)

  • Octane Lending, a New York-based lending startup for recreational purchases, raised $52 million in Series D funding at a valuation over $900 million led by Progressive Investment Company, with Valar Ventures, Upper90, Contour Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, Third Prime, and Parkwood, as well Gaingels and ALIVE also participating. (TechCrunch)

  • August 11: Virtual: The Return to the Office, with Suzy chief people officer Anthony Onesto, CommonBond VP of People Keryn Koch, Silicon Valley Bank managing director Meeta Kapadia, and Vivvi head of people Lauren Gill. Hosted by Tribeca Venture Partners and Silicon Valley Bank. Register here.

  • August 11: Virtual: Fostering Innovation Post-COVID, with Refraction CEO Esther Lee, Company Ventures’ Urban Tech Hub executive director Robinson Hernandez, and others. Hosted by Savills. Register here.

  • August 17: Virtual: A Better Meeting, with Calendly chief product officer Annie Pearl, Mural CEO Mariano Suarez-Battan, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • October 6 – 7: In-Person: 2021 Propelify Innovation Festival, with Tech:NYC founder and executive director Julie Samuels, Capsule CEO Eric Kinariwala, Noom CEO Saeju Jeong, Bowery Farming CEO Irving Fain, and others. Hosted by TechUnited:NJ. Use code WeInventTheFuture to register for a free general admission ticket for a limited time here.

Summer Streets (which is different from the pandemic-era Open Streets program) is the long-running annual festival that takes vehicles off the streets and lets New Yorkers take over the lanes, and it's returning August 7 and 14!

Nearly seven miles of NYC’s streets, from the Brooklyn Bridge up through Central Park, will be open for people to play, run, walk, and bike along Park Avenue and its connecting streets. This weekend should be pretty good Citi Bike weather. (

)

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.