US: 45.3M Cases - 734.6K Dead - 34.7M Recovered
Worldwide: 239.1M Cases - 4.8M Dead - 216.3M Recovered

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Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 320   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 469
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID Cases Are Down - But is a Winter 'Twindemic' Coming?
Experts warn of possible "twindemic" of COVID-19 and flu this winter
Health officials are urging people to not only get the COVID vaccine but also the annual flu vaccine to limit the chances of straining hospital capacity later this winter.

This year's flu season is likely to be worse than what was seen the past two winters when people were largely staying clear of school and work, limiting travel and engaging in other COVID-fighting measures, said Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer with the Snohomish Health District.

The pressure on hospitals from a combination of COVID and flu could drive up admissions to previous pandemic highs. "We could go right back there or beyond," Spitters said in a media briefing last week.

To keep the already stressed healthcare system functional, everyone should get vaccinated now against flu and - if eligible - against COVID as well, Spitters said. goskagit.com
 
Businesses in Texas Banned from Mandating Vaccine
Texas Governor Bans Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates for Employees
Texas businesses and other private entities are now banned from requiring Covid-19 vaccinations for employees, Gov. Greg Abbott said in an executive order issued Monday.

Mr. Abbott, a Republican, said he was adding the issue to the agenda for the current special session of the Texas Legislature and would rescind his order if lawmakers passed a similar ban into law.

"The Covid-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced," Mr. Abbott said in a news release Monday.

Until now, elected officials in Texas have banned governmental entities from requiring vaccines and have banned places of public accommodation from requiring vaccines of their customers, but have allowed private businesses to determine whether to require vaccinations of their staff.

In his executive order, Mr. Abbott said his mandate came in response to the federal government pushing large businesses to require vaccines for employees. "The Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates," the order says. wsj.com

More Retail Mask Violence
Security guard stabbed over mask policy dispute at NYC Apple store, police say

The security guard was stabbed on his left arm and forehead by a man he didn't know, according to New York City police.

A 37-year-old man working as a security guard in an Apple store in New York City was stabbed multiple times following a dispute over wearing a mask inside the store to comply with Covid-19 safety policies, police said.

New York City police responded to the West 14th Street location in Manhattan at about 6:20 p.m. Friday. The security guard told police he was stabbed one time in the left arm and one time in the forehead with a knife by an unknown man. The man then ran away into a nearby subway station.

The injured security guard was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition. The Apple store closed about 2 1/2 hours early as employees spoke to police officers investigating the incident and collected evidence, NBC New York reported. Workers with a cleaning company arrived later Friday night to clean the trail of blood that was still left at the store several hours after the stabbing happened. nbcnews.com

Letting Managers Decide
Amazon Rethinks Office Return Plans, Adding More Flexibility

Company previously delayed plans to return to the office until next year

Amazon.com Inc. expects that some corporate employees will work remotely for the foreseeable future, as the tech behemoth once again changed its return-to-office plans. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a memo to employees Monday that corporate team directors will now decide if staff need to work from the office.

Amazon just two months ago said it was delaying its corporate employees returning to the office until at least Jan. 3, 2022, and before that had suggested that employees should try to be in the office at least three days a week. It had earlier been targeting a return in early September.

Mr. Jassy said Monday the company will give corporate employees the option to work as many as four weeks a year remotely from anywhere in the country in which they are employed. But aside from those four weeks, he said he wants most corporate staff close enough to their core teams that they can get to the office within a day's notice.

Amazon is the latest company to add flexibility to its remote work options and suggest that some adjustments made during the pandemic are likely to outlast it. wsj.com

COVID Drives Substance Abuse in the Workplace
The COVID-19 Crisis Has Brought Substance Abuse to Light

Alcohol and drug use surged during the pandemic, forcing substance use disorders-one of the last taboo subjects in corporate America-into the spotlight.

The COVID-19 pandemic began to push conversations about SUDs into the open as drug and alcohol use, along with deaths from overdoses, soared. Loneliness, confusion and unemployment caused more people to either start using or increase their use of drugs or alcohol at a time when treatment centers and support groups were shuttered due to the public health crisis.

Nearly one-third of people in the U.S. who drink alcohol have increased their consumption since the pandemic began, according to a May study by LifeWorks and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Nearly 30 percent who use drugs reported an increase in that activity. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said deaths from overdoses rose 27 percent in the 12 months ending in August 2020 over the prior 12-month period.

The dramatic rise pushed some companies to explore new ways, ranging from old-school to high-tech, of tackling the disorder. One union is hosting onsite AA meetings for the first time, and a construction company is installing boxes containing naloxone injections that can be used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Medical benefits are being added or bolstered as companies put more pressure on their insurers to provide efficacious, cost-effective treatment for substance abuse. There's also a growing interest in the plethora of digital companies that offer online tools as alternatives to or support for more traditional treatments, such as a stay at a residential facility. shrm.org

Merck seeks FDA emergency use authorization for antiviral Covid treatment

Smoking marijuana could lead to breakthrough COVID cases, study finds

'Containergeddon' Hits Retail Hard
Supply Crisis Drives Walmart and Rivals to Hire Their Own Ships
The dry bulk cargo ship has been drafted into the service of retail giant Walmart, which is chartering its own vessels in an effort to beat the global supply chain disruptions that threaten to torpedo the retail industry's make-or-break holiday season.

"Chartering vessels is just one example of investments we've made to move products as quickly as possible," said Joe Metzger, U.S. executive vice president of supply-chain operations at Walmart, which has hired a number of vessels this year.

The aim is to bypass log-jammed ports and secure scarce ship space at a time when COVID-19, as well as U.S.-China trade ructions, equipment shortages and extreme weather, have exposed the fragility of the globe-spanning supply lines we use for everything from food and fashion to drinks and diapers.

More than 60 container ships carrying clothing, furniture and electronics worth billions of dollars are stuck outside Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals, waiting to unload, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

Other big retail players, such as Target, Home Depot, Costco and Dollar Tree, have said they are chartering ships to deal with the pandemic-driven slowdown of sea networks that handle 90% of the world's trade.

Or, as Steve Ferreira of shipping consultancy Ocean Audit describes the escalating concern: "Containergeddon."

U.S. retailers' traditional lifeline from Asia is freezing up due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia plus a power-supply crunch in China. The supply snarls coincide with booming demand as consumers spend more on goods than going out, and the festive shopping frenzy nears. money.usnews.com

The World's Never-Ending Shipping Crisis
'It's Not Sustainable': What America's Port Crisis Looks Like Up Close

An enduring traffic jam at the Port of Savannah reveals why the chaos in global shipping is likely to persist.

It has come to this in the Great Supply Chain Disruption: They are running out of places to put things at one of the largest ports in the United States. As major ports contend with a staggering pileup of cargo, what once seemed like a temporary phenomenon - a traffic jam that would eventually dissipate - is increasingly viewed as a new reality that could require a substantial refashioning of the world's shipping infrastructure.

As the Savannah port works through the backlog, Mr. Lynch has reluctantly forced ships to wait at sea for more than nine days. On a recent afternoon, more than 20 ships were stuck in the queue, anchored up to 17 miles off the coast in the Atlantic.

Such lines have become common around the globe, from the more than 50 ships marooned last week in the Pacific near Los Angeles to smaller numbers bobbing off terminals in the New York area, to hundreds waylaid off ports in China.

The turmoil in the shipping industry and the broader crisis in supply chains is showing no signs of relenting. It stands as a gnawing source of worry throughout the global economy, challenging once-hopeful assumptions of a vigorous return to growth as vaccines limit the spread of the pandemic.

The shortage of finished goods at retailers represents the flip side of the containers stacked on ships marooned at sea and massed on the riverbanks. The pileup in warehouses is itself a reflection of shortages of truck drivers needed to carry goods to their next destinations.

"The supply chain is overwhelmed and inundated," Mr. Lynch said. "It's not sustainable at this point. Everything is out of whack." nytimes.com

The Retail Wage War Heats Up Ahead of the Holidays
Retailers are betting on wage hikes, perks to woo workers ahead of the holidays. Will it work?

Employers are offering incentives like sign-on bonuses, tuition assistance and higher pay to staff up, but challenges remain.

With a competitive job market threatening to bleed through the hectic holiday shopping season, retailers are now taking extra measures to lure in potential candidates and keep their existing ones. Walgreens Boots Alliance and CVS plan to raise their minimum hourly wage to $15, and Costco raised pay to $16 earlier this year. Amazon is offering sign-on bonuses up to $3,000 and healthcare benefits to some candidates, while Kohl's is giving associates a $100 to $400 bonus for working during the holiday season.

Only a few years ago, some of these tactics might have been unheard of, but several factors remain that prevent these tactics from working, experts said.

"If you have a job market where employers are struggling to find workers, where openings are so high, then you absolutely get into a situation where the balance of power shifts over, to the employee," Mark Mathews, vice president of research development and industry analysis at the National Retail Federation, said. "As employers get desperate to add people, they add more benefits and more pay."

Exacerbating the worker shortage is the upcoming surge in retail sales this holiday season. A recent estimate from Deloitte expects retail sales to jump 7% to 9% this year. Total sales could hit $1.3 trillion, the report indicates. retaildive.com

The Death of Columbus Day Sales
Retailers want nothing to do with Columbus Day
The big picture: Retailers are moving away from big sales events in general, and are especially eager to distance themselves from this particularly disputatious federal holiday, which fell on Monday.

The intrigue: For years, states and municipalities have started renaming "Columbus Day" as "Indigenous Peoples' Day" to protest the legacy of colonialism that hangs over Christopher Columbus' so-called "discovery" of America. The last thing retailers want is to get caught in the culture wars.

Driving the news: Canceling or scaling back big sales events this year would be an especially easy call. This season's well-documented "Everything Shortage" means that retailers don't know what inventory they'll have in a few weeks, and thus can't plan marketing campaigns ahead of time. axios.com

Leading Shopping Center Group Predicts 8.9% Boost In Holiday Sales

With 28 new stores, Ross polishes off its 2021 growth plans

Target announces new 'buy now, pay later' program ahead of holidays

Costco, other retailers impacted by fewer Christmas trees this year because of drought, supply chain shortage


Last week's #1 article --

Shipping Crisis Continues Cargo Ships Continue To Multiply Off LA, Long Beach Ports If you're waiting for a product to be shipped, it may be in one of the half million containers waiting to be offloaded off the Ports of LA and Long Beach. losangeles.cbslocal.com