NYC Workers Face Suspension; Colorado in Crisis: Virus Update
Track the latest on the global Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccination efforts here.
(Bloomberg) --
Tens of thousands of New York City employees -- including police, fire and sanitation workers -- could face unpaid leave Monday as a contentious vaccine mandate goes into effect.
Moderna Inc. said it was notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require additional time to assess the company’s emergency request to approve its vaccine for children ages 12 to 17 as regulators examine the risk of a rare heart inflammation.
The state of Colorado, where the Covid-19 vaccination rate is one of the highest in the U.S., will allow overwhelmed hospitals to turn away new patients, the governor’s office announced Sunday.
Global Covid-19 fatalities closed in on 5 million.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases approach 246.6 million; deaths surpass 4.99 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 7 billion shots given
- China’s Xi uses G-20 talk to push for mutual recognition of shots
- Isolated China is cracking under the strain of keeping Covid out
- Shots for younger kids need doctors’ push to sway leery parents
- Homelessness surges in Brazil’s biggest cities as Covid fades
Colorado Hospitals Can Turn Away Patients (4:03 p.m. NY)
The state of Colorado, where the Covid-19 vaccination rate is one of the highest in the U.S., will allow overwhelmed hospitals to turn away new patients, the governor’s office announced Sunday.
The executive order by Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, authorizes the state health department to “order hospitals and freestanding emergency departments to transfer or cease the admission of (and redirect) patients to respond to the current COVID-19 Disaster Emergency in Colorado.”
The governor’s order also brings the state closer to full-blown rationing of medical care. It allows for implementation of so-called crisis of care standards, a detailed protocol for health care workers to decide in an emergency who should be treated first.
Egypt Administers Half of Vaccine Supply (3:35 p.m. NY)
Egypt said it had used just over half its available vaccine supply, 38 million of 72 million doses. The nation is expecting another 26 million doses, from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Almost 17% of the nation has been administered a first dose, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Thousands of NYC Workers Unvaccinated Despite Mandate (2:45 p.m. NY)
Tens of thousands of New York City employees -- including police, fire and sanitation workers -- could face unpaid leave Monday as a contentious vaccine mandate goes into effect.
The consequences could be dramatic on the essential services the city depends on: Some 24,200 employees subject to the mandate hadn’t received a shot as of Friday, and already firefighters are calling in sick in higher numbers and trash has been reported piling up on sidewalks.
Tensions are high, with Mayor Bill de Blasio saying he won’t back down and city workers protesting in front of his home at Gracie Mansion. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigiro on Saturday said that some firefighters were already engaged in a work slowdown.
Bon Jovi to Take Stage, Tests Positive (1:30 p.m. NY)
Jon Bon Jovi canceled a concert in Miami Beach at the last moment after he tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Bon Jovi, 59, is “fully vaccinated and feeling fine,” the newspaper quoted a representative as saying. Fans had already gathered for the acoustic set.
Raimondo Opposes Delay to U.S. Vaccine Mandates (12:44 p.m. NY)
Delaying President Joe Biden’s federal vaccine mandates until after Christmas would be “a big mistake,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.
She cited United Airlines, which in August became the first U.S. carrier to mandate vaccines for employees . She said job applications to the company are “through the roof.”
“People want to work in a workplace where they feel safe,” Raimondo said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “The best thing we can do to get people back to work is to make sure everybody is vaccinated.”
Moderna Says FDA to Evaluate Teen Risk (11:58 a.m. NY)
Moderna Inc. said it was notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require additional time to assess the company’s emergency request to approve its Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 17 as regulators examine the risk of a rare heart inflammation.
The FDA is still evaluating recent international analyses of post-vaccination risks of myocarditis, a condition affecting the wall of the heart, and the review may not be completed before January, the company said in a statement Sunday. Moderna said it’s fully committed to working closely with the FDA to support their review.
Shanghai Disneyland Suspends Visitor Entry (6:43 a.m. NY)
Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown have temporarily suspended visitor entries to cooperate with a coronavirus investigation.
Current guests will be required to undergo nucleic-acid testing when leaving the resort and a second test is required after 24 hours, Shanghai Disney Resort said in a statement on Weibo on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, Hangzhou city in eastern China reported that a person who tested positive for Covid-19 had taken a train from Shanghai.
German Health Minister Calls for Booster Summit (6:38 a.m. NY)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn called for a summit with state and federal leaders to discuss a uniform strategy on Covid-19 boosters, saying in a newspaper interview that the country must move quickly to halt another wave of infections.
“The current pace of boosters in German doctors’ practices isn’t quick enough,” Spahn was cited as saying in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Germany’s infection rate reached its highest since April on Sunday.
Russia Sees Record Surge (4:33 p.m. HK)
Russia posted another unprecedented one-day surge in cases, with 40,993 new infections.
President Vladimir Putin declared that the period Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 will be non-working days in Russia in a bid to curb the virus transmission. Lockdowns in some regions, including Moscow, started earlier last week.
India Ready to Make 5 Billion Shots in 2022: Modi (12:47 p.m. HK)
Prime Minister Modi told the G-20 leaders in Rome that India was ready to manufacture more than 5 billion vaccine doses by 2022, which will boost the global fight against the pandemic. He also said it’s important for the World Health Organization to “quickly” recognize Indian vaccines in its emergency-use authorization list.
India reported 12,830 new infections on Sunday as the total tally for the world’s second-worst-hit nation touched 34.3 million cases. Covid-related deaths rose by 446 to exceed 458,000, while 6.8 million vaccine doses were administered in a day to push the total to 1.06 billion shots.
Johnson Says U.K. Will Have Lockdown-Free Christmas (5 a.m. HK)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is adamant that the U.K. will have a Christmas without restrictions despite an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases.
“I see no evidence whatever to think that any kind of lockdown is on the cards,” Johnson told reporters en route to the Group of 20 summit in Rome. “Yes it’s true that cases are high, but they do not currently constitute any reason to go to Plan B.”
The promise of a lockdown-free Christmas this year is one Johnson will want to keep after he dramatically changed course last December and canceled plans to allow families to see each other over the holidays.
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With assistance from Bloomberg