INFORMS Open Forum

Good evening,

Please find today's COVID-19 Update for January 15th below and attached. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Thank you,

Ashley Smith

INFORMS In The News  

• The simple reason West Virginia leads the nation in vaccinating nursing home residents (The Conversation)

          Member: Tinglong Dai

• FedEx and UPS deliver on COVID-19 vaccine shipments, but mission still sees slowdowns (Commercial Appeal)

          Member: Julie Swann

• Stop Doing This Immediately to Avoid the New COVID Strain, Doctors Warn (Best Life)

          Member: Julie Swann

 

Federal Policy Update

• The CDC issued a report today finding that the newest variant of COVID-19 could display "rapid growth in early 2021" across the United States.
• President-elect Biden announced his COVID-19 proposal today, which included reforming eligibility rules to receive a vaccine, offering more vaccination locations, and a pledge to distribute 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days.
• President-elect Biden appointed David Kessler, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, to serve as chief science officer of Biden's Covid response. Biden also announced that his administration will retire Operation Warp Speed and install a newly structured coronavirus task force with a new name.
• The IRS announced today that tax filing will be delayed until February 12 due to the Covid-related stimulus payments and tax law changes that were approved by Congress in December.
• Pfizer will temporarily reduce shipments of Covid-19 vaccine as it prepares to scale up production to manufacture two billion vaccine doses in 2021.

 

State Policy Update

• The Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles will launch as a mass vaccination site, becoming the largest vaccination site in the US.
• Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced today that New York City is anticipated to run out of vaccination doses by the end of next week. Hospitals in the city have begun cancelling vaccination appointments with older residents as a result.   

Global Updates

•  UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday that the region will close all travel corridors from 4 a.m. local time Monday.
• France has imposed new travel restrictions on incoming travelers from non-EU countries, including requiring that travelers take a TCR test before leaving their country, pledging to self-isolate for a week once arriving in France, and taking a second PCR test after quarantine.
• Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with the country's 16 regional leaders to discuss ramping up coronavirus restrictions.
• Brazil has directed its air force to fly oxygen into the Amazonian region of Manaus to assist with the surge of COVID-19 cases and low supply of oxygen in the region.
• Almost half of Ireland's total Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began have been reported in the last two weeks.

 

Stock Market Changes

U.S. stocks were on the decline today, with the three indices closing with losses. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.87%. The S&P 500 fell by 0.72%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.57%. 
 

Cases Update

In the United States: Over 24,021,743 cases and 400,641 deaths in 50 states, 4 territories, and Washington, D.C. Worldwide: Over 94,134,261 cases and 2,013,875 deaths in at least 204 countries and territories.

 

In the News 

• There have now been over two million virus-related deaths worldwide. (New York Times)
• K. Covid-19 Strain Likely to Become Dominant in U.S. in March, CDC Says (Wall Street Journal)
• Biden's Covid vaccine plan focuses on communities of color (Politico)
• GOP senator calls Biden's $1.9T relief package 'a colossal waste and economically harmful' (The Hill)

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Ashley Smith
Public Relations Specialist
INFORMS
Catonsville MD
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