• In today’s Recommendations for Industry, we discuss TAG’s weekly Matrix and what it means to encourage workers to be vaccinated – state by state. Read more below.
• Vaccination rates across the U.S. are uneven and there is increasing evidence that places with lower vaccination rates tend toward higher case rates. [CNN]
• Two studies have been released that explore the disparities of US COVID vaccine distribution.
• CIDRAP reports that while COVID-19 cases are at the lowest rate in a year, hospitalizations among young adults have increased to 36% of all hospitalizations. Additionally, different states are taking different approaches to mask mandates (some allowing no masks for fully vaccinated individuals outdoors only with others still requiring masking).
• NYT explores the “New Honor System On Masks” – what does “trusting” others on their actual vaccination status mean?
• Currently, the U.S. is promising 80M vaccine doses to other countries. [NYT]
• Canada’s PM Trudeau suggests that in order for the US-Canada border to open, 75% of the Canadian population would need to be vaccinated.
• The EU says that the Pfizer vaccine can now be stored in the refrigerator (thawed, unopened) for up to a month (instead of the current 5 days).
• One of the researchers that helped developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has come out to say that vaccinating children in more affluent nations before vaccinating high-risk individuals in poorer nations is “morally wrong.”
• Food Safety:
  • Scientists at Cornell University have discovered 5 new species of Listeria (one of which is immotile). This will inevitably lead to a “rewrite of the standard identification protocols issued by food safety regulators.” [News Release / Journal Article in Microbiology Research]

Encouraging Vaccination to Enable a Maskless Workplace

Overall the US is looking good in COVID-19 case rate reductions, but the uneven vaccination rates that are being seen across the nation is posing a worrisome trend, as this could reduce efforts to end the pandemic. The CNN report noted vaccination rates ranging from more than 78% of adults in Vermont having at least one vaccine to less than 45% in Mississippi.

With such trends, businesses are questioning if and how they should follow CDC guidance of allowing vaccinated persons to go maskless – as it relies on the honor code rather than any verification of vaccination.

As such, TAG continues its recommendations to “Trust but verify” and continue to encourage all workers (and their families) to be vaccinated. The best forms of encouragement, however, do vary by location.  As discussed in a New York Times article, those not lining up to be vaccinated can be grouped into four profiles.

Nationally:

• 8% are Watchful. They’re waiting to see what happens next.
• 9% are Cost-Anxious. They want the vaccine but can’t afford the time or cost.
• 4% are System Distrusters. They feel the health care system doesn’t treat them fairly.
• 14% are Covid Skeptics. They don’t believe the threat.

But with those percentages varying by state, the article includes the option to select each state to see the percentage of persons within each profile. So, for example, in Arkansas, the highest percentage are “Covid Skeptics” not believing the threat, whereas in Hawaii, the greatest percentage are “Watchful” – waiting to see what happens next.

So businesses will need to adjust their thinking to adapt to that of their workers in order to increase their vaccination rate. TAG has been working with businesses throughout the pandemic to assist in areas such as this. Give us a call if you need assistance.

Risk Matrix

Positive trends –

• The Government Stringency Index is 43 this week. Four (4) states’ (California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon) businesses continue to be in mixed opening stages.
• In Figure 1, this week, we compare the case rate/100K (Table 1) in the population to the percentage of a state’s population that has been fully vaccinated (Table 2). Table 3 compares the previous week’s percentage of states’ populations that have become fully vaccinated full dose (and the rate of change between the last week and this week).

Table 1.

Figure 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

• No states have a TPR ≥ 10% or TPR <10% and a case rate ≥ 25/100K people! This is positive news ? Things are looking up!

• In Monday’s Recommendations for Industry, we discussed international, and U.S. initiatives intended to help businesses prepare for public health crises, to ultimately “make COVID-19 the last pandemic. Read more here.
• The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness & Response has put out a report titled, “COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic,” which we will discuss more of today. See the brief here and the Lancet article here.
• UNICEF says more affluent countries can donate COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX.
• Pre-Olympics, 10 weeks from now, the increase of COVID-19 cases has prompted Japan to widen its State of Emergency.
• Taiwan, which had been able to control its COVID-19 cases/outbreak since the start of the pandemic now has its own endemic cases; with 333 new infections. There is now a shutdown of all schools in Taipei and New Taipei for two weeks. In addition, there is a ban on non-residents and visitors entering Taiwan for a month.
• The head of Dubai’s airport has said that the only way for us to begin mass foreign travel is to roll out vaccine passports.
• Uruguay currently has the highest death toll per capita.
• More and more fast-food places are offering incentives for those who are getting vaccinated! For example, if you have a Shake Shack near you, you can now get free fries! Yum!
• With increasing vaccinations, states in the North East United States (including C.T., MA, PA, and R.I.) have seen a significant drop in cases and hospitalizations.
• In Friday’s Recommendations for Industry, we discussed CDC’s updated COVID-19 recommended on the unmasking of fully vaccinated people – and TAG’s recommendations for a judicious transition. Read more here.
• A panel to explore WHO’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has critical issues to WHO’s response which was complicated by global governments. The reports suggested reforms include:
  • A new global threats council should be created with the power to hold countries accountable
  • There should be a disease surveillance system to publish information without the approval of countries concerned
  • Vaccines must be classed as public goods and there should be a pandemic financing facility
  • There was an immediate request for the wealthy G7 nations to commit $1.9bn (£1.3bn) to the WHO’s Covax programme providing vaccine support to low income countries.
• In order to get the American public vaccinated, NPR and LYFT are starting to offer free rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination locations (from May 24^th through July 4^th). This is to increase access and encourage individuals to be vaccinated!
• Medicare has a new policy requiting nursing homes in the U.S. to report COVID-19 vaccination numbers of its residents and staff.
• Germany is warning of increased counterfeit COVID vaccines.
• Ontario, one of Canada’s province, Will be extending stay-at-home orders until June 2.
• A new study on dental procedures during COVID-19 have found that they are “no riskier than a drink of water”.
• An increasing number of states are incentivizing vaccinations, including in Ohio wherein vaccinated individuals “would be eligible for $1M in lottery prizes” and more.
• Because of definitions of “droplet” versus “airborne tranmissions”, WIRED explores how “The 60-year-old scientific screwup” helped COVID spread and kill.
• A recent study finds that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can neutralize B1526 and B1429 variants first identified in N.Y. and C.A., respectively).