More NYC Workers Get Shots; Europe Starts Boosters: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Vaccination rates among New York City’s police, fire and sanitation departments rose as workers faced possible suspension on Monday. The city is bracing for service gaps, with tens of thousands of essential public workers still not vaccinated under the mandate imposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

Europe is rolling out booster shots, hoping to protect the most vulnerable as infections surge and threaten another deadly winter. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Covid remains serious as cases hit the highest point since May. 

Russia reported record daily infections. Ireland posted the most new cases since January. Chinese officials said the country’s latest outbreak is under control but the share of the elderly getting infected is rising.

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: Cases approach 246.3 million; deaths surpass 4.99 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 7 billion shots given
• Isolated China is cracking under the strain of keeping Covid out
• Shots for younger kids need doctors’ push to sway leery parents
• Fake vaccine cards pose enforcement challenge as mandates rise
• Homelessness surges in Brazil’s biggest cities as Covid fades

Oregon Mandate Allowed for Many Exemptions (4:05 p.m. NY)

Oregon’s vaccine mandate for health-care workers, state workers and some teachers allowed for significant exemptions, including almost half of emergency medical responders in one city in the state’s south, The Oregonian reported. 

The state mandate, one of the broadest in the U.S., did push up vaccination rates, the newspaper found. But many exemptions for religious and health reasons were granted, which the newspaper said were not fully tracked. 

The investigation listed vaccination rates and percentage of exemptions approved. Portland public schools were 96% vaccinated. Among EMTs in the city of Medford, 44% applied for exemptions and all of them were approved. 

NYC Workers Get Last-Minute Shots (11:27 a.m. NY)

Vaccination rates among New York City’s police, fire and sanitation departments rose as workers faced possible suspension on Monday. The city is bracing for gaps in public health and safety, with tens of thousands of essential public workers still not vaccinated under the mandate imposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

The New York Police Department said its vaccination rate had risen to 84%, from 79% on Thursday. The Fire Department’s numbers rose to 77% from 69% the day before. 

Amid complaints of trash already piling up on city sidewalks, the rate for sanitation workers rose 10% to 77%, according to City Hall data.

Most city workers were required to receive a first dose by Friday afternoon, but were allowed to work through the weekend, presumably leaving more time for vaccination.

States Sue U.S. Over Contractor Mandate (11:15 a.m. NY)

More than a dozen states sued President Joe Biden over his vaccine mandate for federal contractors, arguing the initiative forces Americans to choose between their jobs and their constitutional rights. 

The U.S. constitution doesn’t give the federal government the right to dictate “any and every facet of its citizens’ lives,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in one of the complaints, filed Friday night in federal court in Galveston, Texas. 

More than a dozen other Republican-led states joined in two other lawsuits filed in federal courts on Friday in Missouri and Georgia. 

Ireland Posts Most New Cases Since January (9 a.m. NY)

Ireland reported 2,966 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the highest daily uptick in infections since January.

Ninety-two people were being treated in an intensive-care unit as of 11:30 a.m. local time, government figures showed. More than 443,000 people have been infected since the pandemic began.

Russia Reports Record Cases (6:30 a.m. NY)

Russia reported a record number of daily infections, even after restrictions were announced to slow the spread.

There were 40,251 new cases and 1,160 deaths over the past day -- fractionally below the record fatalities posted on Friday -- according to data from the national coronavirus headquarters.

September was Russia’s deadliest since World War II , with 44,265 deaths associated with the virus last month, according to figures published Friday. President Vladimir Putin has ordered non-working days for the first week of November, while several regions imposed tougher lockdowns. Moscow is closed for most business from Oct. 28 through Nov. 7.

China Says Mongolia Outbreak Under Control (6:18 a.m. NY)

Chinese officials said the country’s latest Covid-19 outbreak is under control but the share of the elderly getting infected has posed healthcare challenges.

The virus hotspot of Ejina county in Inner Mongolia, a tourist destination that draws many older visitors, has not seen cases spreading to other places in four days, National Health Commission officials said in a media briefing on Saturday. All new infections found among close contacts are under quarantine, they said.

Bangkok Lifts Alcohol Sale Ban in Restaurants (6:13 a.m. NY)

Thailand’s capital will lift a ban on sale of alcohol at restaurants from Monday as authorities loosen more Covid curbs to draw tourists under a reopening plan that waives quarantine for vaccinated visitors.

Restaurants certified by the tourism authorities can serve alcohol until 9 p.m. but bars will remain closed, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said in a statement Saturday. The move to lift the six-month long ban follows a steady decline in new cases that prompted the nation’s main virus task force on Friday to declassify Bangkok as a high-risk Covid zone.

Merkel Says New Surge Should ‘Worry Us All’ (4:30 p.m. HK)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned in a newspaper interview that people should continue to take Covid-19 seriously as the latest wave of infections reached its highest level since May 3.

Trends in hospitalization and death rates “worry me a lot,” Merkel is quoted as saying in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “They should worry us all.”

Germany reported 90 new Covid deaths on Saturday morning. Though about two-thirds of the population is fully immunized, some 3.6 million residents above the age of 60 still haven’t gotten their shots.

Europe Starts Booster Shots to Fight Fourth Wave (1 p.m HK)

Europe is rolling out Covid-19 booster shots, hoping to protect the most vulnerable as virus infections surge and threaten to cause another disastrous winter.

While the push is concentrated on the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, it could expand into a full-throated drive to give another dose to entire adult populations.

Governments are desperate to bring to an end the waves of outbreaks that keep emerging, and avoid the prospect of more restrictions and lockdowns. Boosters are the latest stage in their efforts after almost two years of battling, and mark the start of what may be annual inoculations as the world learns to live with the virus long term.

Tensions Rise in NYC Over Vaccine Mandate (7:54 a.m. HK)

Six New York City firefighters were suspended after they drove a firetruck to a local state senator’s office to protest the vaccine mandate for city employees. The deadline for receiving a first dose is 5 p.m. Friday, and those who don’t comply face suspension starting Monday. 

Senator Zellnor Myrie from Brooklyn, who was not at the office when the firefighters arrived, told WCBS Newsradio they demanded from his staff where he lived and said there would be “blood” on his hands if the mandates were carried out. 

“This is incredibly disturbing, highly inappropriate,” said Myrie, who was not involved in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to impose the mandate.

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