Tracking COVID-19: New York, big businesses doubling down on vaccines

Tyson Foods to require COVID-19 vaccines for all US employees  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  TRACKING THE COVID-19 VACCINE Aug 03, 2021 New York City on Tuesday became the nation’s first big city to announce it will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination at restaurants, shows and gyms, joining the growing list of state and local governments and large employers taking a hard line against both the surging delta variant and vaccine holdouts. Meat and poultry giant Tyson Foods said it will require all of its approximately 120,000 U.S. employees to get the shot over the next three months, becoming one of the first major employers of front-line workers to do so. And an estimated 150,000 unionized workers at the big three U.S. automakers will have to go back to wearing masks starting Wednesday. "The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. If we're going to stop the delta variant, the time is now. And that means getting vaccinated right now,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in announcing the aggressive new measures that will go into effect in mid-August. Vaccination cards will be accepted as proof of inoculation, along with state and city apps. COVID-19 cases across the U.S. have increased sixfold over the past month to an average of more than 85,000 per day, a level not seen since mid-February. Deaths have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 254 per day to 386. Florida has more people now in the hospital with COVID-19 than at any other time during the outbreak — over 11,500. Louisiana reported an all-time high of more than 2,100 hospital patients with the virus, most of them unvaccinated. Both states' vaccination rates are below the national average. The crisis has become a race between the delta variant and the vaccine. Experts say the vaccine is still highly effective at preventing serious illness and death from the more contagious mutant version. Amid the growing alarm over the way the virus is storming back, vaccinations across the country have begun to tick up slightly in recent weeks, reaching more than a half-million per day on average, but are still far below the peak of 3.4 million per day in April. Read more about this story. TOP STORIES Tyson Foods to require COVID-19 vaccines for all US employees » Central Iowa schools weigh back-to-school options as pandemic looms » Polk County officials, doctors urge residents to wear masks, get vaccinated » CDC reports substantial, high COVID-19 transmission in most Iowa counties » MORE STORIES Watch Live: Biden provides update on COVID-19 vaccination efforts » As COVID-19 cases increase, experts explain how schools should handle an outbreak » NYC becomes first major US city to require vaccination proof for indoor dining, gyms » CDC adds 16 destinations to 'very high' COVID-19 travel risk list » MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT If you'd like to receive some of our other email newsletters, you can tap or click the links below: Be among the first to receive National Breaking News or Local Breaking News as stories break. Catch up on the day's big stories with our Morning Headlines and Afternoon Digest newsletters. Receive our Daily Forecasts or get Severe Weather Alerts sent straight to your email inbox. Manage your email newsletter subscriptions » For the very latest information, download our free apps To ensure email delivery, add newsletters@e.kcci.com to your address book or safe senders list © 2021 Hearst Television Inc. 300 W 57th Street, New York NY 10019 Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Unsubscribe