Tech:NYC Digest: February 18

Tech:NYC Digest: February 18

February 18, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Thursday, February 18, 2021As NYC works through another surge of the coronavirus, 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: State Senators move to rescind Cuomo’s emergency powers; Pfizer vaccine effective against South Africa strain, but produces fewer antibodies; NYC updates masking guidance, now recommending double-masking especially for 65+; new poll shows 44 percent of US workers are clueless to company’s return to office plans.

By the Numbers:

  • New York State: 1,555,773 (+6,794)

  • New York City: 671,779 (+3,438) 

  • Statewide Fatalities: 37,556 (+114)

  • NYC Positivity Rates:

    • NYS reports: 4.3 percent (-0.1 percent) 

    • NYC reports: 7.2 percent (+0.2 percent)

  • Vaccine Administering Progress:

    • NYS first doses: 2,109,690

    • NYC first doses: 852,963

General Updates:

  • Due to ongoing winter weather in much of the country, vaccine shipments are delayed, forcing more changes at vaccination sites in NYC. City officials say they have less than 17,500 first doses on hand and, because of storm delays, do not expect more supply until Sunday. (Wall Street Journal)

    • Beginning Feb. 23, New York-Presbyterian will allow people aged 18+ with underlying conditions to book appointments at the Armory site in Washington Heights. The site is open to all NYC residents, but 60 percent of the slots are reserved for north Manhattan and west Bronx residents. Slots are expected to open up once new vaccine supply arrives by Monday. More info here.

    • Appointments at the Citi Field and Bathgate mass sites are postponed, and the vaccination sites at Staten Island’s Empire Outlets and the Martin Van Buren High School in Queens are opening tomorrow instead of today. (NY1)

  • Meanwhile, city officials announced they are finally working on a single website where New Yorkers can search and book vaccine appointments for all city-run locations. (New York Post) The new interface is live for 15 sites and will continue to expand to include more city providers. It’s an improvement, but appointments at state-run facilities remain on a separate site, as do most private clinics and pharmacies. 

  • The State Senate is advancing plans to rescind the emergency powers granted to Gov. Cuomo at the beginning of the pandemic. (New York Times) The FBI and the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn has simultaneously launched an investigation to review how state officials handled nursing homes during the pandemic. (NBC News)

  • CDC Director Rochelle Walenksy said the agency is tracking the three prominent variant strains of the coronavirus in the US, and warned that the UK strain could become the dominant one among Americans in the two months. (Bloomberg) Fortunately, new research shows the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is effective against the South Africa variant. (Wall Street Journal)

One thing we love: the Tech:NYC team talks regularly about how much we miss the mundane sounds and experiences of being among fellow New Yorkers in a crowded bar or cafe. Now, there’s a tool for that.

The latest results: “Low risk” cultural institutions like museums have now been reopened in NYC for about six months, albeit at low capacity limits and other ongoing safety protocols in place. While these spaces have been a welcome option for people otherwise cooped up at home, many of them are still raising concerns that low visitor levels continue to mean an uncertain outlook. Have you visited any of these reopened spaces?

Today's poll

: Pet adoptions during the pandemic continue to surge as people (including three Tech:NYC team members!) want a furry friend (or a fish, rabbit,

) to share the many hours stuck at home. Some shelters have even reported

to be adopted. Have you adopted a pet during the pandemic?

 

 

 

  • *|SURVEY: Yes, I got a dog|*

  • *|SURVEY: Yes, I got a cat|*

  • *|SURVEY: Yes, I got another type of pet|*

  • *|SURVEY: Almost, I got a plant|*

  • *|SURVEY: No, no new pets for me|*

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

  • NYC released updated guidance on masks and face coverings, recommending double-masking and KN95 masks (more readily available than the higher grade N95s), especially for individuals 65 and older. Get the guidance here.

  • The deadline for nursing home residents and staff to opt into receiving the vaccine has passed. A supply of doses will remain on reserve for new patients and staff, and remaining supply will be reallocated to other vaccination sites. (NY State of Politics)

    • While the formal program for nursing home residents and staff is drawing to a close, visitations to nursing homes in New York will remain under strict guidelines to prevent more COVID-19 transmission.

  • Mayor de Blasio is asking the White House and other federal officials to allocate the aid from the next stimulus package directly to NYC, instead of through New York State. (Gotham Gazette)

  • The NYC Dept. of Education announced, beginning next fall, students will no longer get into “gifted-and-talented” programs via standardized testing. Instead, elementary school entrants will be placed in a lottery system based on letters of recommendations from preschool teachers. (Wall Street Journal)

Related reading:

  • A Dismal Spring Awaits Unless We Slow the Spread (New York Times)

  • Yes, UV phone sanitizers work. That doesn’t mean you need one. (Washington Post)

Working:

  • The vaccine rollout isn’t going as quickly as many hoped, pushing many companies to again delay expected office reopening dates. (Wall Street Journal)

    • Return-to-office projections are still shifting so much that some companies have stopped sharing timelines with employees to avoid dashing expectations on any return to “normal.” A new survey of 2,200 US workers found that 44 percent of employees polled didn’t know their company’s plans to return to the workplace, up from 37 percent last September.

    • Some companies are now estimating Labor Day as a return date, a nod to working parents given its alignment with the start of the new school year. Others are anticipating full reopenings no sooner than early 2022.

  • Meanwhile, in anticipation of when those reopenings can proceed, companies are beginning to build new health security protocols. (Axios) Over 70 companies are already using smartphone-based systems to screen employees for symptoms, as well as tools for automated contact tracing and to digitally monitor PPE inventory.

  • The Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School has a useful roundup on vaccine requirements in the workplace. (Bill of Health) TL;DR: complex regulations are pushing most employers toward voluntary vaccination programs, not mandates.

Related reading:

  • Former eBay COO Maynard Webb is a remote work prognosticator. He predicts what’s next for the workplace. (Fast Company)

  • Pandemic brings boom in calendar-management platforms (Axios)

  • How to effectively welcome and onboard a new employee, given most workplaces are still all-virtual. (Justworks)

Request: please let us know as your return-to-office policies are developed and what considerations your companies are taking for developing them. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

Recruit: A tech talent and job opportunities board from Tech:NYC and AlleyCorp compiles NYC tech workers looking for new roles and NYC-based tech companies hiring open positions. To contribute to the board, click here.Events:

  • February 18: Virtual: A Conversation with Harlem Capital Managing Partner Jarrid Tingle. Hosted by Tech:NYC, Cornell Tech, and Bloomberg. (Details)

  • February 23: Virtual: AI and Patent Law: What if AI Becomes an Inventor?, with the American Patent Agency PC. Hosted by Newlab. (Details) 

  • March 3: Virtual: How the Big Apple Will Regain Its Shine, with Sidewalk Labs chairman and CEO Dan Doctoroff. Hosted by Crain’s New York. (Details)

  • March 4: Virtual: Life Sciences and the Next Frontier of Technology, with bestselling biographer Walter Isaacson and Nomad Health CEO Dr. Alexi Nazem. Hosted by Company Ventures. (Details)

Check these sources for verified information from government agencies and public health authorities:

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