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Tech:NYC Digest: December 1

Tech:NYC Digest: December 1

December 01, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Tuesday, December 1, 2020As NYC’s reopening and recovery efforts continue, the digest focuses on the resources that help you make decisions about your businesses and your lives as New Yorkers.Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

The latest: CDC committee convenes on first phase vaccine distribution plan, expected to prioritize frontline workers; NJ tightens gathering guidelines through 2020; updated MTA budget proposes eliminating subway lines and raising fares; exposure notification systems tops 100 greatest innovations of 2020.

Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 655,265 (+7,285)
New York City: 314,548 (+2,569)
Statewide Fatalities: 26,816 (+66)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 3.1 percent (+0.2 percent)
- NYC reports: 4.1 percent (+0.1 percent)

General Updates:

With cases continuing to rise, NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi issued a new advisory today recommending that older adults, people with underlying health conditions, and people who are household members or caregivers of people at risk for COVID-related illness limit all activities except for medical or essential purposes. (Gothamist)
Across the river, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced additional restrictions, including a reduced limit of 25 people for outdoor gatherings and a ban on all indoor sports activities and competitions through the end of the year. Outdoor sports may continue, but only with a maximum of 25 spectators. (The Record)
Today, a CDC advisory committee is meeting (virtually) to prepare for the first phase of vaccine distribution, where they will decide who should receive it first. (USA Today) Common consensus was that frontline healthcare workers would be first, but now the committee is breaking that up into a “Group 1A” and “Group 1B.” How that gets sorted will determine when people in long-term care facilities get the vaccine, and how much discretion states and governors will have over the immunization triage.
Speaking of vaccine distribution: Gov. Cuomo sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, co-signed by dozens of community leaders, urging a federal distribution plan that prioritizes equity and accessibility for Black, Brown, low-income, and rural communities. (Spectrum News) The letter also calls for privacy protections that protect immigrants by decoupling Social Security numbers from any vaccine tracking protocols.

One request: Tech:NYC is partnering with New Stand to collect insights from tech companies about their office reopening plans (or lack thereof) in light of the pandemic and how it might impact any perks or benefits employees are offered. Please help by taking their three minute survey here.One good read: Popular Science announced its 100 greatest innovations of 2020. At the top of the list: exposure notification systems by Apple and Google. Which reminds us: have you downloaded COVID Alert NY yet?

Yesterday's results: Two drugmakers have now applied to the FDA for emergency use authorization, meaning that there could potentially be millions of COVID-19 vaccines available across the US as soon as next month. When do you think the vaccine will be available to you?

Today's poll

: With emergency use requests on the FDA’s desk, the CDC ironing out distribution strategy, and drugmakers ramping up production to tens of millions of doses,

the vaccine horizon is fast approaching

. There are likely several months before it’s available to the general public, but once it reaches that stage, millions worldwide will have been inoculated with the first batch. When do you plan to get the vaccine?

*|SURVEY: I’ll get it as soon as it’s available to me|*
*|SURVEY: I’ll wait until a majority of others in my grouping get it first|*
*|SURVEY: I’ll wait until a second generation of the vaccine is available|*
*|SURVEY:I don’t plan to get the vaccine|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

Reopening:

Here’s one useful tool: The New York Times allows you to build your own coronavirus tracker that directly compares trends in states, cities, and other metro areas that matter to you. Get it here.
ICYMI: Gov. Cuomo has put emergency hospital orders into effect that require a five-part plan to respond to the rapidly increasing hospitalization rate. (CNBC) Hospitalizations are now at their highest since late May, and in areas where new hospitalizations are particularly high, the governor said a regional “NY on PAUSE” order like the one implemented at the peak of the pandemic could go into effect.
The MTA has said that anything less than the $12 billion in federal aid the agency needs to operate would mean “everything is on the table” in terms of service reductions. (New York Times) Similar to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, bus routes and whole subway lines could be eliminated based on ridership trends, and a four percent fare increase is scheduled to go into effect in the spring. Any plans to do train signal upgrades are suspended.
- By way of comparison: the Washington, DC metro is planning to eliminate weekend rail service and close 19 stations and half of its bus routes amid its deficit. (Washington Post)
In an effort to provide relief to the restaurant industry, a new bill would create a one-week sales tax holiday for food and drinks sold at restaurant establishments. (NY State of Politics) It would apply to indoor dining as well as takeout and delivery sales.
And following SantaCon’s lead, the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge has also been canceled.