Tech:NYC Digest: January 12

Tech:NYC Digest: January 12

January 12, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Tuesday, January 12, 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: 65+ now eligible for vaccines in New York; Citi Field to be used as 24/7 vaccination megasite, open by end of month; US will require COVID tests for all incoming air passengers; Primary Venture Partners launched a new resource hub for the NYC tech community, including an investor directory — find it here.

Confirmed Cases:

  • New York State: 1,155,370 (+15,214)

  • New York City: 489,451 (+5,994)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 32,007 (+164)

  • NYC Positivity Rates: 

    • NYS reports: 6.0 percent (+0.1 percent)

    • NYC reports: 8.2 percent (no change)

General Updates:

  • Gov. Cuomo announced that, effective immediately, New Yorkers 65 years of age and older are eligible to receive the vaccine. (New York Post) Just yesterday New York started vaccinating the 75+ category. Today’s immediate expansion comes after the CDC urged states to open eligibility to a broader age group to accelerate the rollout. (NBC News)

    • The governor warned that opening it up more doesn’t change the state’s supply, noting that there will be far more eligible New Yorkers than there is current vaccine supply available to the state. (CNBC) Mayor de Blasio has echoed the warnings, saying that unless the federal government ramps up supply access, NYC will run out of doses in about two weeks. (NY1)

    • Additionally, the city’s vaccine sign-up website has been overwhelmed by the rush of newly eligible individuals. (CBS New York)

    • One change that will help: the Trump Administration reversed its policy of holding back supply set aside for second doses and will instead release them more immediately, a move President-elect Biden said he would take upon assuming office. (Washington Post) It’s still to be confirmed how much that will increase New York’s vaccine supply.

  • Five public vaccination sites are now open across the city, and Mayor de Blasio has vowed to open 250 more locations in the coming weeks. (Reuters) Among them: Citi Field will be opened as a 24/7 megasite by the end of January, with a goal to administer 5,000 to 7,000 vaccinations a day. (CNBC)

  • Eight more cases of the more infectious UK variant of the coronavirus have been confirmed, bringing the state’s total to 12 cases. (NBC New York)

  • Gov. Cuomo delivered the second part of his annual State of the State address. (New York Daily News) It focused on steps the state will take to support the arts and culture sectors, as well as new initiatives to provide workforce development and training programs and wider broadband access. The governor has two more speeches scheduled tomorrow and Thursday.

  • The latest in human-to-animal transmission of COVID-19: gorillas at the San Diego zoo. (New York Times) Aside from some congestion and coughing, they are doing well.

One read we love: amid dealing with the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol building, Senator Chuck Schumer still found 20 minutes to praise the hard work of on-the-ground NYC Community Board members. (LIC Post)

The latest results: New York today expanded vaccine eligibility to individuals 75+ and essential workers. While it’s still not available to the general population, progress is being made and hundreds of thousands have received their shots. Other states too, with varying degrees of success, are putting their doses to use. Do you know someone who’s been administered or is scheduled to soon be administered the COVID-19 vaccine?

Today's poll

: Following the violent insurrection at the Capitol last week, a growing number of elected officials and business leaders alike have called for Pres. Trump’s removal from office. The possibility of impeachment is

by even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and a vote to officially charge the president is expected tomorrow. Do you support the impeachment of Pres. Trump?

  • *|SURVEY: Yes|*

  • *|SURVEY: No|*

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

Reopening:

  • With vaccine eligibility now open to education staffers in NYC, officials have said priority will be given to in-person public school educators in 3K through fifth grade and special education, although there’s not yet a system in place to enforce that. (Gothamist)

  • After the IRS mistakenly sent the latest $600 coronavirus relief payments to millions of closed or inactive bank accounts, the agency said affected individuals should receive those checks by early February. (New York Post)

  • Beginning Jan. 26, the US will require all international travelers to produce a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a flight landing in the country. (New York Times) The move is an expansion of the current CDC order requiring negative results from passengers from the UK.

  • Some Wall Street banks and Federal Reserve officials are optimistic that, with a robust vaccination rollout, the US will see significant employment gains over the next three years that evade the lags of past recessions. (Bloomberg)

Related reading:

Working:

  • Primary Venture Partners has launched the NYC Founder Guide, a new resource hub of insights on the New York tech ecosystem. The guide includes a proprietary directory of active angel, pre-seed or seed investors to connect with; profiles on firms with key partners, client examples and preferred sectors; advice articles ranging from local law firm recommendations to best mailing lists; and more. Get it here.

Related reading:

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:

  • January 13: Virtual: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, with Exscientia CEO Andrew Hopkins, Scripps Research Translational Institute founder Eric Topol, NVIDIA vice president Kimberly Powell, and more. Hosted by the Washington Post. (Details)

  • January 14: Virtual: Civic Engagement, Technology, and Resilience, with NYC CTO John Paul Farmer and Tel Aviv CTO Hilay Selivansky. Hosted by JCRC of New York. (Details) 

  • January 15: Virtual: NYC Media Lab Celebrates Wikipedia’s 20th Birthday, with Wikimedia Foundation CEO Katherine Maher and NPR’s TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi. Hosted by NYC Media Lab. (Details)

  • January 21: Virtual: Workplace in Focus: Innovating During Crisis, with Maven CEO Katherine Ryder, Accenture Interactive CEO Brian Whipple, and more. Hosted by Bloomberg. (Details)

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

Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to

.