Tech:NYC Digest: March 30

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021As the vaccination rollout progresses and NYC continues to respond to the pandemic, this 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: Expanded eligibility brings another wave of jammed appointment schedules; judge rules NY inmates were unfairly excluded from vaccine rollout, must start receiving doses; Google donates $1M to NYC for vaccine awareness, new vaccine sites for public housing residents; Apple to give paid time off for staff to get vaccinated and to recover from side effects.

By the Numbers:

• New York State: 1,850,050 (+6,488)

• New York City: 828,074 (+3,118)   

• Statewide Fatalities: 40,451 (+61)

• NYC Positivity Rates:

  • NYS reports: 4.2 percent (no change)

  • NYC reports: 6.2 percent (no change)

• Vaccine Progress:

  • NYS first doses administered: 5,971,395 (+73,117)

  • NYC first doses administered: 2,132,571 (+31,760)

General Updates:

• Eligibility to receive the vaccine opened up to all New Yorkers aged 30 and older today. (New York Magazine) But there’s far more eligible New Yorkers than currently available appointments slots, so a few reminders and tips:

  • The surge in eligibility means scheduling sites will be overloaded, and slots will get booked up the second they appear. If it takes you hours or even days to grab a slot, you’re not alone.

  • If you don’t succeed quickly, come back to scheduling sites again and often. The state site releases new slots on six minute intervals.

  • The city site also releases new slots at a timed cadence, generally in the afternoons and evenings. When searching the city site, changing the date or zip code in the finder (instead of refreshing the webpage) will refresh the page without kicking you back to the beginning of eligibility form.

  • Outside of city- and state-run sites, if you have a regular doctor or clinic provider, check in with them. Many of them have the ability to help schedule appointments for their patients, or even offer the vaccination themselves.

  • At the end of the day: be patient and keep at it. While scheduling site traffic is so high, scanner tools like TurboVax and NYC Vaccine List are going to be a lot less useful. If you don’t grab a slot quickly, come back to them in the few days following a new group being eligible and there should be more options. 

• Even once you do get vaccinated, there are still some precautions you should observe when getting back to “normal” work and social activities. Here’s a good interactive tool to help assess the risk in your post-vaccination decision making.

The latest results: According to a recent analysis by Crain’s New York, many top-tier NYC-based tech companies have hired in droves during the pandemic. Has your company onboarded new team members this month?

Today's poll

: With today’s expanded eligibility, there are very few people left who can’t sign up for a vaccine in New York. At the same time, appointment slots are too few to handle the increased demand, so there will still be days, if not weeks of waiting for many. Were you able to schedule a vaccine appointment today?

• *|SURVEY: Yes, I scheduled one today|*

• *|SURVEY: No, but I became eligible today|*

• *|SURVEY: I am already vaccinated / scheduled to get a vaccine before today|*

• *|SURVEY: I do not plan on scheduling a vaccine appointment|*

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

• A judge in the Bronx ruled that people incarcerated in the state’s prisons and jails had been arbitrarily excluded from the coronavirus vaccine rollout and must get access to doses immediately. (New York Times) The order is the first of its kind among the country’s largest correctional systems, and while Gov. Cuomo signaled he won’t appeal the decision, some logistical and legal hurdles have complicated when doses might actually be administered.

• The rule permitting the sale of alcohol for takeout is set to expire on Wednesday. As a major lifeline for restaurants and bars trying to sustain revenue levels, restaurant and hospitality groups are calling for the rule to be extended and, eventually, made permanent. (Crain’s NY)

• Gov. Cuomo announced that collegiate sports venues can reopen beginning Friday at 10 percent capacity indoors and 20 percent capacity outdoors. Recent negative COVID-19 tests or proof of vaccination are required of all patrons. (WHEC)

• Google announced that it is committing $1 million in advertisement and education resources to get the word out about vaccine availability in NYC. It’s also awarding the city a grant to set up a new vaccination site exclusively for public housing and NYCHA residents in the Chelsea-Fulton area. (amNY)

• The Tribeca Film Festival (which was canceled last spring due to the pandemic) will return this June for in-person, outdoor events that will be spread through the five boroughs. (NBC New York) Some of the participating venues include the Battery, Hudson Yards, Pier 57 Rooftop, MetroTech Commons in Brooklyn, and others. (AP)

Related reading:

• So you’re newly eligible? Answers to all your questions about getting vaccinated (New York Times)

• Why people keep asking what vaccine you got (The Atlantic)

• If the pandemic has made you anxious about returning to “normal,” you’re not alone (BuzzFeed News)

Working:

• A slew of modifications to office buildings have already been made to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, and as workers begin trickling back in, even more changes are on the way. (New York Times)

  • Expanded gathering spaces and fewer personal workstations will mean reimagining furniture needs to include more hot desks, mobile tables, carts, and partitions.

  • Companies are also workshopping ways to give employees who choose to work remotely the same ability to participate in team meetings and group work as those who are physically present in conference rooms. (AI-enabled holograms anyone?)

  • Buildings are also adding technology to make entering and exiting a workplace contactless, with mobile apps, sensors, and voice-enabled security and elevator tools.

• Apple has joined several other tech companies in giving its staff paid time off to get the vaccine when they’re eligible. (Bloomberg) The offer applies to both corporate and retail workers. Additionally, the company announced it would give paid sick leave to workers who experience vaccine side effects.

  • The company has slowly been bringing retail staff back to stores across the country, and corporate office employees are expected to begin returning as early as June.

• Goldman Sachs told its incoming class of summer interns they would complete their programs in-person, citing the progress of the vaccine roll out in cities where their main offices are. (Bloomberg)

Related reading:

• Harvard Study Finds Most Workers Would Rather Continue Working From Home (Entrepreneur)

• The hybrid office is here to stay. The shift could be more disruptive than the move to all-remote work. (Washington Post)

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:

• March 31: Virtual: The Tech M&A Bounceback, with Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, Merus Capital founding partner (and former Google corporate development principal) Sean Dempsey, and more. Hosted by Axios. (Details)

• April 8: Virtual: A Conversation with Brad Svrluga, co-founder and general partner of Primary Venture Partners. Hosted by Tech:NYC, Cornell Tech, and Bloomberg. (Details)

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

• New York State Department of Health

• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• Centers for Disease Control

• World Health Organization

• Sign up for Gov. Cuomo’s nightly updates

• Download COVID Alert NY, New York's contact tracing app

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