Good evening,
Please find today's COVID-19 Update for January 20 below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Thanks you,
Jeff Cohen
INFORMS Members In The News
INFORMS Member: Tinglong Dai
INFORMS Member: Anna Nagurney
INFORMS Member: Sheldon Jacobson
INFORMS Member: Sheldon Jacobson
INFORMS Member: Oguz Alagoz
INFORMS Member: Tinglong Dai
Federal Policy Update
▪ President Joe Biden issued the following COVID-related executive orders on the first day of his presidency:
◦ Implementing a 100-day mask challenge with a requirement for masks to be worn in all federal buildings;
◦ Re-engaging with the World Health Organization;
◦ Creating a COVID-19 Response Coordinator; and
◦ Extending the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.
▪ Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) announced that President Biden is planning to "invoke the Defense Production Act to maximize the supply chain in the fight against COVID-19."
▪ Over 16.5 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the country, with at least 2.1 million people having received both doses.
▪ Dr. Jerome Adams – who was Surgeon General during the Trump administration – confirmed that the Biden administration has requested him to step down from his position.
▪ The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention updated its forecasts to reflect up to 508,000 COVID deaths are possible by mid-February.
▪ Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the Biden administration would hold regular COVID-19 briefings with health officials.
State Update
▪ The National Association of County & City Health Officials announced that they plan to continue meeting regularly with the Biden administration on coronavirus response, with NACCHO CEO Lori Freeman stating that they will discuss "the response, testing, tracing, and vaccines."
Global Response
▪ The European Commission announced that the European Union has plans to vaccine at least 70% of the bloc's adult population by this summer.
▪ Italian Coronavirus Commissioner Demonico Arcuri announced that the country's government would be taking legal action against pharmaceutical company Pfizer due to coronavirus vaccine delays.
▪ The British government is pausing rapid daily contact testing as the United Kingdom enters a new phase of cases, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock stating that it is "unclear" if the risks outweigh the benefits of rapid testing now.
▪ Germany has extended its national lockdown until mid-February, and will implement tougher restrictions as Covid-19 cases rise.
▪ The Netherlands proposed a nationwide curfew between 8:30 PM and 4:30 AM, pending parliamentary approval. The country has also banned flights from the UK, South Africa, and South America to prevent incoming cases of the new COVID-19 variants from those regions.
▪ The Chilean Institute of Public Health voted to authorize emergency use of the coronavirus vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
▪ Japan has signed a contract to buy 144 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will vaccinate 72 million residents – comprising nearly half of the country's 125 million residents.
▪ Zimbabwean International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo has died from COVID-19.
Economic Update
▪ U.S. stocks were on the rise today, with the three indices closing with gains. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.97%, the S&P 500 by 1.39% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.83%.
Latest Impact Data
▪ In the United States: Over 24,987,212 cases and 415,530 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C.
▪ Worldwide: Over 97,266,259 cases and 2,081,173 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.
In the News
▪ Biden looks to galvanize COVID-19 fight, vaccinations as he takes office (Reuters)
▪ States' new vaccine worry: Not enough doses (Politico)
▪ Biden moves to halt US exodus from World Health Organization (The Hill)
▪ Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines (The New York Times)
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Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA
Director, Public Affairs & Marketing
INFORMS
jeff.cohen@informs.org------------------------------