Tech:NYC Digest: October 20

Tech:NYC Digest: October 20

October 20, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

In today’s digest, all three vaccines get booster approval from the FDA, all city workers mandated to get vaxxed, Adams and Sliwa face-off on debate stage tonight, and striking the right work-life balance when getting back to the office.

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

By the numbers:

  • New positive cases statewide: 4,668

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,131

  • Statewide Fatalities: 34 (+5) 

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.2 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 86.2 percent

    • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 73.1 percent 

Today’s latest: 

  • Breaking news just minutes ago: the FDA authorized booster shots for both the Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (New York Times)

    • It also updated its authorizations for all three vaccines — including Pfizer, which was previously authorized — to allow medical providers to boost people with a different COVID-19 vaccine than they initially received.

    • Guidance from New York public health officials about the resulting eligibility to receive a booster shot in the state is expected in the next day.

  • New York City will require all city workers to be vaccinated by the end of the month or lose their paychecks. Starting on Nov. 1, city workers — including police officers, firefighters, and sanitation workers — must have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and will no longer have the option of regular testing as an alternative. (New York Times)

    • The new mandate, put in place after similar requirements for teachers and health care workers boosted vaccinations, is the most aggressive step taken yet to get holdouts in the public workforce vaccinated.

  • Racism is now officially a public health crisis in New York City. On Monday, the city’s Board of Health passed a resolution recognizing the impact of racism on people’s health during the pandemic, which magnified inequities in communities of color. The resolution calls on the city’s Dept. of Health to make changes as necessary. (CBS New York)

  • The Biden administration has obtained enough coronavirus vaccines to distribute doses for the nation’s 28 million children ages five to 11 once federal authorization is obtained. The Pfizer vaccine for five to 11 year olds could obtain authorization in just a couple of weeks. (Washington Post)

    • Biden administration officials are laying out plans to ensure that some 25,000 pediatric and primary care offices, thousands of pharmacies, and hundreds of school and rural health clinics will be ready to administer shots upon approval. (New York Times)

  • And if you’re interested: there’s a mayoral debate tonight between Democrat candidate Eric Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. The one-hour debate begins at 7pm — here’s how to tune in.

In other reading:

  • As Borders Reopen, New York Wants Foreign Tourists Back, and Fast (New York Times)

  • How the Covid-19 booster shots could make the vaccination gap worse (CNN)

  • Is NYC About to Get Its First Bike Mayor? (Gothamist)

Companies are keeping their fingers crossed for a return-to-office date in early 2022, and in anticipation (positive or negative), employees are asking what their workplace’s “new normal” will look like.

But a better question would be: How do we ensure a better normal? (Washington Post)

  • Job stress and burnout were already at an all-time high among US workers before the pandemic. And today, according to one survey, almost five in 10 employees say they are more burned out than they were a year ago.

Of course, burnout and challenges around work-life balance is by no means a new issue in tech — or across the country broadly — but the tension between the two has been heightened by the pandemic. (Big Think)

  • Studies suggest people are leaving or planning to leave their employers in record numbers in 2021 – a “Great Resignation” that appears to have been precipitated most by these reflections.

Finding the balance will be key, and companies are adding policies to their post-pandemic handbooks to achieve that: 

  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai said working three days a week in the office and two days remotely offers that balance — time with colleagues to collaborate, time at home, and a break from commuting. (Insider)

  • Citigroup told staff to avoid scheduling calls and meetings from noon to 1pm and to shorten hour-long meetings to 45 minutes so employees can use the extra time to prepare for their next task, check emails, or just have a breather in between calls. (Bloomberg)

  • American Express will allow employees to work from anywhere for up to four weeks a year moving forward so they can spend more time traveling or visiting family and friends. (Reuters)

The takeaway: The companies that will get the most from their teams in a post-pandemic environment will be the ones that understand the importance of work-life balance.

In other reading:

  • Work-Life Balance Is Over — The Life-Work Revolution Is Here (Forbes)

  • The ‘Great Resignation’ is Finally Getting Companies to Take Burnout Seriously. Is It Enough? (TIME)

  • Where Are the Workers? (New York Times)

  • Praxis Labs, a New York-based diversity VR startup, raised $15.5 million in Series A funding. Norwest Venture Partners and Emerson Collective led the round and were joined by Penny Jar Capital, Concrete Rose Capital, SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund, Ulu Ventures, Precursor Ventures, and Firework Ventures.

  • Republic, a New York City-based investing platform, raised $150 million in Series B funding. Valor Equity Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Galaxy Interactive, Motley Fool Ventures, HOF Capital, Tribe Capital, CoinFund, and Pillar VC.

  • October 21: Virtual: The New Benefits Package, with Upwork chief people officer Zoe Harte, Paradigm IQ managing director Dr. Evelen 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.

  • October 28: In-person: NYC: Reborn Summit, with Tech:NYC executive director Julie Samuels, Common founder and CEO Brad Hargreaves, MTA acting chair and CEO Janno Lieber, and others. Hosted by the Manhattan Institute. Register here.

  • November 8: In-person and virtual: TechDay Founders Summit, with The Fund general partner Jenny Fielding, Eniac Ventures co-founder Nihal Mehta, Republic head of venture growth Cheryl Campos, and others. Admission is by application only. Register here.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.