Tech:NYC Digest: October 12

Tech:NYC Digest: October 12

October 12, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Welcome back! In today’s digest, the latest booster breakdowns, NYC teachers continue challenging vax mandates, and Amazon joins the list of tech companies relaxing RTO guidelines. 

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By the numbers:

  • New positive cases statewide: 3,376 

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,028 

  • Statewide Fatalities: 35 (+5)

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.3 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 85.1 percent 

    • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 72.2 percent 

Today’s latest: 

  • Compliance with masking and other COVID protocols, plus the rapid spread of the Delta variant, may have had more to do with vaccine efficacy declines than immunological waning, according to a New York State Dept. of Health study published Monday. (NBC New York)

    • Only Pfizer’s vaccine booster is federally approved for emergency use, though Moderna and Johnson & Johnson say their data supports COVID-19 vaccine boosters. (NPR) 

  • New York City teachers and New York state health care workers continue to challenge vaccine mandates, which went into effect in late September.

    • A group of 10 teachers returned to federal court for a hearing today after losing their bid for a temporary injunction last week. The teachers asked for a preliminary injunction, alleging hostility toward religious beliefs. (ABC New York)

  • Vaccine manufacturers are betting the mRNA technology powering two successful COVID-19 vaccines will help curb the global death toll from the flu. (New York Times)

    • mRNA vaccines are manufactured more quickly than traditional influenza vaccines, which may make them better matched to each season’s flu strains and provoke a stronger immune response. 

  • FDA scientists today declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, saying data shows two doses are still enough to protect against severe disease and death. (CNBC)

    • Moderna has also argued the FDA should authorize a half-dose of its coronavirus vaccine as a booster shot for recipients at least six months after the second dose, citing evidence that the vaccine’s potency against infection wanes over time. (New York Times)

In other reading:

Amazon announced it would give its employees more flexibility to work from home even after its offices begin to reopen next year. (Protocol)

The company announced Monday that it no longer plans to require its entire corporate workforce to report to the office at least three days a week. Instead, directors will decide how often their teams need to work on-site, if at all.

  • "At a company of our size, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for how every team works best," CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a blog post. “We expect that there will be teams that continue working mostly remotely, others that will work some combination of remotely and in the office, and still others that will decide customers are best served having the team work mostly in the office.”

Amazon just two months ago said it was delaying its return to the office until at least Jan. 3, 2022, and before that had suggested employees be in the office at least three days a week. (Wall Street Journal)

Amazon is the latest tech giant to add flexibility to its remote work options and suggest that some adjustments made during the pandemic are likely to continue. (CNBC)

  • Microsoft in September indefinitely postponed its return to the office, while Facebook and Google expect a portion of their employees to continue working from home. Twitter told its employees last year they can work from home “forever” if they choose to.

Overall, Americans love the idea of working from home, and so remote work options have become an important aspect of recruiting and retaining employees as competition for talent remains fierce. 

Broad surveys of American workers have shown mixed results about returning to the office. (Fast Company)

  • Sixty-five percent said they’d be willing to take a pay cut, according to a survey by Breeze Insurance this summer. 

  • Sixty-five percent would give up five percent of their salary, while 15 percent said they’d be okay forking over one-quarter of what they earn. Big chunks of respondents also indicated they’d forgo things like health insurance, paid time off, 401(k)s or other retirement plans, or student loan repayment assistance.

  • Fifty-three percent would be willing to work an extra 10 hours per week.

In other reading:

  • When Will Offices Open? Ambiguous goals are good for executives but bad for employees (The New Yorker)

  • ‘The great reimagination of work’: Why 50% of workers want to make a career change (CNBC)

  • New York Offices Try Filling Up Via Fancy Food (Commercial Observer)

  • Alviere, a New York City-based embedded finance startup, raised $50 million in Series B funding. The round included existing backers like Viola Ventures, Viola Fintech, CommerzVentures, and North Coast Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Bond Vet, a New York City-based veterinary care clinic chain, raised $170 million from Warburg Pincus. (TechCrunch)

  • Humming Homes, a New York City-based residential property management platform, raised $5.6 million in seed funding. Greycroft led the round and was joined by Thrive Capital, Sound Ventures, and New Valley Ventures. (The Real Deal)

  • Oshi Health, a New York City-based provider of virtual care for GI issues, raised $23 million in Series A funding. Flare Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Frist Cressey Ventures co-led the round and were joined by CVS Health Ventures and Takeda Digital Ventures. (GlobeNewswire)

  • WattBuy, a New York City-based clean energy company, raised $10 million in Series A funding. SE Ventures led the round and was joined by MCJ Collective, as well as Evergy Ventures, Updater, Powerhouse Ventures, Techstars Ventures, Avesta Fund, and Yoav Lurie. (Businesswire)

  • October 14: Virtual: The Future of Health and Wellness at Work, with Unilever chief human resources officer Leena Nair and Wellable CEO Nick Patel. Hosted by the Washington Post. Register here.

  • October 20: In-person: Cybertech NYC, with Congressman Ritchie Torres, former CIA director Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus, US Dept. of Energy CIO Ann Dunkin, NYCEDC president and CEO Rachel Loeb, and others. Use special Tech:NYC code “fullnyc21a4” for a free “full event pass” ticket. Register here.

  • October 20: Virtual: Startup Marketing $0 to $100M+, with Snyk chief marketing and customer experience officer Jeff Yoshimura. Hosted by Work-Bench. Register here.

  • October 21: Virtual: The New Benefits Package, with Upwork chief people officer Zoe Harte, Paradigm IQ managing director Dr. Evelyn Carter, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • October 22: Virtual: FutureProof Tech Summit, with Aclima CEO Davida Herzl, Twitter head of ethical AI Rumman Chowdhury, Lerer Hippeau investor Meagan Loyst, and more. Hosted by the Startups & Society Initiative. Register here.

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