Good News: COVID Vaccines. Bad News: Not Enough of Them.

Everything you need to know for Tuesday, Dec. 8: North Carolina's COVID surge hasn't peaked yet + businesses worry about another lockdown + how climate change will change our lives

Dec 08, 2020

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020

2 days until Hanukkah
6 days until the Electoral College votes
17 days until Christmas
23 days until this cursed year ends
43 days until this cursed presidency is over

Today’s Number: 66

Percentage of food service workers who say their tips have declined by at least 50% during the pandemic, according to a survey from the UC Berkeley Food Labor Research Center. Other findings:

“Nearly one-half (44%) of workers who responded reported that at least one or more of their co-workers in their restaurant had contracted COVID-19.”
“Most workers (84%) report being within six feet of at least one person who is not wearing a mask in every shift, and more than one third (33%) report being within six feet of 30 or more maskless individuals on every shift.”
“Over three-quarters of workers (78%) report experiencing or witnessing hostile behavior from customers in response to staff enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols, and nearly 60% (59%) report experiencing such hostility at least weekly.”
“Over one-half of workers (58%) report feeling reluctant to enforce COVID-19 protocols out of concern that customers would tip them less. Indeed, two-thirds of workers (67%) report having received a lesser than usual tip after enforcing COVID-19 protocols on customers, usually on a frequent basis.”
“More than 40% of workers (41%) reported that there has been a noticeable change in the frequency of unwanted sexualized comments from customers, and just over one quarter (25%) report that they have experienced or witnessed a significant change in the frequency of such sexual harassment.”

Just a thought: Maybe the kinds of people who insist on dining inside restaurants during a pandemic are also the same ones most likely to tip less and harass more—self-absorbed assholes.

—> Good News: COVID Vaccines. Bad News: Not Enough of Them.

The FDA is expected to approve Pfizer’s COVID vaccine on Thursday. After that, North Carolina expects to receive about 85,000 doses beginning next week. But that’s not enough for all of the frontline hospital workers. In fact, only about 50 or 60 of the state’s more than 100 hospitals will receive the vaccine initially.

From the N&O: “According to the list released Monday, [these hospitals] will include Duke University Health System, CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem and The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority or Atrium Health in Charlotte. Among the smaller hospitals on the list are Bladen County Hospital, Caldwell Memorial Hospital, Catawba Valley Medical Center, Hoke Hospital, and Pardee Memorial Hospital in Hendersonville.
“The list also includes the ‘University of North Carolina Shared Services Agreement,’ which appears to refer to a warehouse in Morrisville that the UNC Health system uses to store and distribute supplies to UNC hospitals in the Triangle region, including Rex in Raleigh and UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill.

More will be distributed as supplies become available, which might take longer than it should. For that, thank the Trump administration.

“Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to people familiar with the matter. Now Pfizer may not be able provide more of its vaccine to the United States until next June because of its commitments to other countries, they said.”
“Britain plans to begin a vaccination drive on Tuesday using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, making it the first Western nation to start mass vaccinations. On Nov. 11—two days after Pfizer first announced early results indicating that its vaccine was more than 90 percent effective—the European Union announced that it had finalized a supply deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 200 million doses, a deal they began negotiating in months earlier. Shipments could begin by the end of the year, and the contract includes an option for 100 million more doses.”
Pfizer is under contract to supply the US with 100 million doses—but because it’s a two-dose treatment, that will only immunize 50 million Americans.

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+ LOCAL & STATE

—> The State’s COVID Surge Hasn’t Peaked Yet

North Carolina set new highs Monday for COVID hospitalizations and COVID patients in the ICU—and the worst is yet to come.

“The recent spike in cases has not yet accounted for the impact from Thanksgiving gatherings or travel, Zack Moore, North Carolina’s state epidemiologist, said during a Monday morning meeting of the Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board. ‘We expect to see any impact from those starting this week,’ Moore said.”

Even with a vaccine around the corner, new restrictions seem almost inevitable in the short term. For business owners on the cusp on the holiday season, that’s a terrifying prospect.

Chuck Millsaps, co-owner of Great Outdoor Provision Co.: “We hope that wouldn’t happen. It may be that we are able to operate in a limited capacity if that's his decision. We hope we can keep the doors open as they are now.”
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin: “If we want to see restaurants remain open, if we want to see our retail shops remain open, wear a mask, obey the rules. I’m just hoping that people realize that they are the ones in control and, if by taking personal responsibility, by wearing a mask, by social distancing, by not gathering in crowds at their homes, they can make a difference.”

—> In Other News

Does Virginia Foxx have the ’rona? (Policy Watch)
Dish Network will pay North Carolina $14 million after settling a lawsuit over aggressive robocalls. (N&O)
Durham County officially has an all-woman Board of County Commissioners. (WRAL)
Weather: Clear, cold, high of 47. (WRAL)

+ NATION & WORLD

—> The Lede: How Climate Change Will Change How We Live

Under an extreme warming scenario, much of the southern and western United States will become too dry to live within a half-century. Maricopa County will see 95 degree days half the year. Under even moderate warming scenarios, the part of the US most suitable to human life will move north toward the Upper Midwest.

Today, the combination of truly dangerous heat and humidity is rare. But by 2050, parts of the Midwest and Louisiana could see conditions that make it difficult for the human body to cool itself for nearly one out of every 20 days in the year. New projections for farm productivity also suggest that growing food will become difficult across large parts of the country, including the heart of the High Plains’ $35 billion agriculture industry. All the while, sea level rise will transform the coasts.
Combined, these factors will lead to profound economic losses—and possibly mass migration of Americans away from distress in much of the southern and coastal regions of the country. Meanwhile, the northern Midwest and Great Plains will benefit, in farm productivity, in economy and in overall comfort.

Good news? According to these ProPublica graphics, the Triangle will make out pretty well.

—> Briefs: 3 Stories to Read Today

“Water is joining gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across more of the world. Farmers, hedge funds, and municipalities alike will be able to hedge against—or bet on—potential water scarcity starting this week, when CME Group Inc. launches contracts linked to the $1.1 billion California spot water market. According to Chicago-based CME, the futures will help water users manage risk and better align supply and demand.” (Bloomberg)
“On Dec. 10, Brandon Bernard is scheduled to be executed. If the execution goes forward, he will die for acting as an accomplice in a crime that happened when he was 18. Five of the nine surviving jurors who voted 20 years ago to condemn Bernard to death now support sparing his life. So does a former federal prosecutor who defended Bernard’s death sentence on appeal. Bernard and his lawyers are fighting a desperate battle to avoid execution. … If his execution date gets pushed back even six weeks, his fate would be determined by a new administration led by Joe Biden, who says he opposes the death penalty.” (HuffPost)
“Despite the high polarization in the country that carried over to the reaction to the results—with 70 percent to 80 percent of Republicans still saying they disbelieve that Joe Biden won—in some respects the vote itself was less polarized than in 2016. Compared with 2016, in 2020 there was less difference by race or ethnicity, and urban areas and suburban areas voted more alike. But the economic and education partisan divides widened. Mr. Biden gained in well-educated suburbs and exurbs, often in places that have tended to vote Republican in recent decades, like the Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix areas.” (NYT/Upshot)

—> The Rundown

Armed Michiganders protested the election results outside of the secretary of state’s house. (HuffPost)
Attorney General Bill Barr, who would like to salvage the remnants of his reputation, might step down before Trump’s term ends. (NYT)
The Supreme Court refused to ban transgender students from using bathrooms that conform to their gender identities. (WRAL)
Bob Woodward is writing a book on Trump’s final days in office. (Axios)
Florida’s state police appear to have raided the home of a whistleblower who has been posting COVID numbers the governor didn’t want released. (Twitter)
The Trump administration rejected tighter limits on soot. (WaPo)

—> Cultured: Americans Rate Their Mental Health Worse Than Ever

According to a new Gallup poll, 76% of Americans rate their mental health positively, which seems pretty good. But it’s a nine-point drop since last year, and the lowest rate recorded in at least two decades.

Each year since 2001, Gallup has asked Americans as part of its November Health and Healthcare survey to say whether their own mental or emotional wellbeing is excellent, good, only fair or poor. The reading for those rating their mental health as excellent or good ranged from 81% to 89% until this year's 76%.
Although the majority of U.S. adults continue to rate their mental health as excellent (34%) or good (42%), and far fewer say it is only fair (18%) or poor (5%), the latest excellent ratings are eight points lower than Gallup has measured in any prior year.

It hardly takes a shrink to figure out what’s happening:

Previous research from Gallup's ongoing COVID-19 tracking survey in April found that although majorities of Americans said they could continue following social distancing guidelines as long as necessary before their physical health and financial situation suffered, less than half said the same of their mental health. Additionally, in April, U.S. adults' life evaluations fell to a low point last seen during the Great Recession.

—> Et Cetera

Bob Dylan sold his entire songwriting catalog to Universal. (NYT)
Phil Griffin has reportedly been ousted at MSNBC and will be replaced by Rashida Jones—the first Black executive to run a cable news net. (Mediaite)
Can we please stop with these stupid monoliths? (NY Post)
Cuteness fix: A little pygmy possum found on Kangaroo Island for the first time since a brushfire destroyed most of their habitat last summer. (Guardian)

Thanks for reading. And thanks again to Beth Keena for her help.

PRIMER | North Carolina