Israel is giving the world a first glimpse into the rules that may govern a vaccinated society.
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The White House said it would make good on a U.S. promise to donate $4 billion to manufacture and distribute vaccines around the globe.
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Kamala Harris said that the 2.5 million women who have left the work force since the beginning of the pandemic constituted a “national emergency.”
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New York legislators moved to strip Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his pandemic powers.
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Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and vaccines in development.
New rules in a vaccinated society
Israel’s vaccination campaign is the fastest in the world, and in the coming days it will reach a milestone, inoculating half of its population with at least one dose.
The rapid rollout is giving the rest of the world a first glimpse into the rules that may govern a vaccinated society — and they’re raising thorny questions.
This week, the government is allowing the reopening of shopping malls, gyms, sport events, hotels and other venues for the first time in months — but only for people who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19. Under a new “Green Badge” system, customers and attendees will have to carry a certificate of vaccination with a QR code to gain entrance to many areas of public life, from restaurants and event halls, to conferences and swimming pools.
The system is fueling a heated debate about personal rights versus the greater good. But for the country’s health minister, the situation is cut and dry: “Getting vaccinated is a moral duty. It is part of our mutual responsibility,” he said. “Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.”
The health ministry is now proposing legislation that would require some unvaccinated employees to be tested every 48 hours for the virus, and the health minister is promoting a bill that would identify unvaccinated people to the local authorities.
While four million people out of a population of nine million have been vaccinated, about two million citizens who are eligible have not sought a vaccine. In some cities, unvaccinated employees have been threatened with dismissal, including hotel workers and educators. A quarter or more of Israel’s teachers have not sought a first dose, and critics say they pose a danger to students under 16, who are too young to be vaccinated.
Rights groups have pushed back and have written a letter to the attorney general demanding that he issue a clear opinion that, under the law, employers may not demand vaccination status from workers. But with so many competing interests involved, resolving these issues may require legislative action from Parliament.
Dr. Maya Peled Raz, an expert in health law and ethics at the University of Haifa, defended some limits on personal liberties for the greater good. Employers cannot force employees to get vaccinated, she said, but they might be allowed to employ only vaccinated workers if not doing so could harm their business.
“It’s your choice,” she added of leisure activities. “If you are vaccinated, you can enter. As long as you aren’t, we can’t let you endanger others.”
U.S. life expectancy drops
Life expectancy is the most basic way to measure the health of a population and in the United States in the first half of 2020, it fell by a full year, to 77.8 years. It was the largest dip in life expectancy since World War II and a stark measure of the deadly consequences of the pandemic.
The figures, released by the federal government, offer the first full picture of the pandemic’s effect on American expected life spans. The sharp drop comes after a series of smaller declines driven largely by a surge in drug overdose deaths.
The data also showed a deepening of racial and ethnic disparities: Life expectancy of the Black population declined by 2.7 years in the first half of 2020, slicing away 20 years of gains. The life expectancy gap between Black and white Americans, which had been narrowing, is now at six years, the widest it has been since 1998.
Still, experts say the drop is not likely to last long because deaths from the virus are easing and the population is slowly being vaccinated. Even if a rebound is expected, researchers noted that the social and economic effects of Covid-19 will linger, as will the disproportionate effects on communities of color.
Unequal access. New data shows that rates of vaccination in Black and Latino communities in New York are lower than rates in largely white communities. That suggests they aren’t getting equal access to vaccines, even though they have been disproportionately affected by the virus.
Vaccine rollout
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After Massachusetts nearly doubled vaccine eligibility, its website buckled under the strain.
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Hong Kong approved the vaccine from Sinovac, a mainland Chinese drug company that has faced scrutiny around the world over shipping delays and spotty data disclosures.
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Nepal approved a vaccine manufactured by Sinopharm, a state-owned vaccine maker from China, while Zimbabwe began its first vaccinations using 200,000 Sinopharm doses donated by China.
What else we’re following
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A Michigan prison has seen an eruption of the highly contagious variant first seen in Britain.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida faced sharp questions about why his staff had chosen to set up a vaccination site in Lakewood Ranch, an affluent and mostly white community developed by a Republican political donor.
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A little-known program that allowed New Yorkers to get a Covid-19 vaccination if they volunteered at vaccine distribution sites has stopped accepting new applicants who do not have experience in health care.
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With anxiety and depression on the rise during the pandemic, mental health providers are struggling to deal with demand.
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The New York Times magazine caught up with seven essential workers they first spoke with last year to talk about what they’ve learned so far, and what lies ahead.
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Apple is making a design change to its syringe emoji, swapping an image with drops of blood for one that looks more like a vaccine dose.
What you’re doing
The company I work for transitioned to fully remote in March 2020. When I went into the office to collect my belongings, I ran into a co-worker who was doing the same. As we chatted for a short while, I found that he was in need of a kidney, and that we are the same blood type. During Christmas week, we were finally able to schedule transplant surgery. I am happy to say that we are both recovering after a successful surgery yesterday. We never would have connected if it were not for Covid.
— John G., Rochester, N.Y.
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