US: Over 26.3M Cases - 443K Dead - 16M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 102M Cases - 2.2M Dead - 74M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 271  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 222
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Map: Track the spread of the Covid-19 variants across the United States

Where the U.K., the South African and the Brazilian variants have been found

More infectious Covid-19 variants have emerged around the world, and experts are saying the United States must adapt to a changed pandemic playing field. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these variants spread more easily, and it’s unknown whether the illness caused is more severe. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be only slightly less effective against the South African variant.

Track the spread of the Covid-19 variants: the U.K. variant, the South African variant and the Brazilian variant. This map will be updated here: nbcnews.com

A 3rd Covid Vaccine for the U.S. Emerges
Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection
but Fuels Concern About Variants
Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its one-dose coronavirus vaccine provided strong protection against Covid-19, potentially offering the United States a third powerful tool in a desperate race against a worldwide rise in virus mutations.

But the results came with a significant cautionary note: The vaccine’s efficacy rate dropped from 72 percent in the United States to 57 percent in South Africa, where a highly contagious variant is driving most cases. Studies suggest that this variant also blunts the effectiveness of Covid vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. The variant has spread to at least 31 countries, including the United States, where two cases were documented this week.

Johnson & Johnson said that it planned to apply for emergency authorization of the vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration as soon as next week, putting it on track to receive clearance later in February. nytimes.com

Like the Others, Novavax’s Vaccine Works Well - Except on South African Variant

"Distributing, administering & monitoring vaccinations
The greatest workflow challenge of our time"

Workday, ServiceNow & Salesforce unveil new vaccine management solutions
Designed to help leaders track the immunization status of their workers, monitor vaccine supplies and assess the shifting COVID-19 risk status across their organizations.

Creating Online 'Command Centers'
Workday's solution allows HR leaders to evaluate vaccine availability and worker vaccination status along with enabling employees to confidentially self-report vaccination information, said Barbry McGann, senior vice president of product management. Companies using Workday's analytics software can pull in immunization data from third-party systems, like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization, that can be combined with real-time HR data and immunization information for more-informed insights.

ServiceNow, which provides cloud-based platforms that automate HR processes, also has released a new solution designed to help organizations streamline their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The solution promises to address the challenges of vaccination at large volumes, which includes distribution, administration and monitoring of the vaccine.

Salesforce, a customer relationship management platform, also has a vaccine management solution designed to help health care organizations and governments more efficiently and safely manage vaccine programs at larger volumes. Called Work.com for Vaccines, the technology features vaccine inventory management tools, appointment scheduling, vaccine outcome monitoring, public health notifications and more.

Data Privacy and Security Issues shrm.org

Walmart Has Spent the Past Year Preparing with CDC and Others to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine
This week, Lisa Smith, Senior Director of Health and Wellness at Walmart, released the following article:

“As we prepare this week to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines in Maryland, Texas, Delaware, Indiana and the District of Columbia to eligible populations as determined by each district and state, we know our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are ready. It has been a year of hard work and preparation to get to this point. And as more people become eligible for vaccination, it’s a good time to take a look back at how we got here.

Right now we have over 5,000 Walmart store and Sam’s Club locations that are operationally and clinically ready to administer vaccines in our facilities and in communities through vaccination events.

It's taken a lot of preparation to get to where we are, and our pharmacists are ready and excited to get started taking the fight to COVID-19 by administering vaccines. We are all in this together.” businesswire.com

Clearly, the vaccine is not the silver bullet
Stores are open, but the pandemic keeps shoppers away
Despite effective vaccines and more government relief, consumers are playing it safe as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and variants emerge.

Even once they're vaccinated, 40% of U.S. consumers say they'll shop for apparel as much or less in stores, and another third or so are unsure about or will refuse a vaccine, according to research from experience management platform First Insight. Most (61%) said they'll cut back on spending if there's another shutdown.

"Our latest research shows that even with a vaccine, people will still be afraid to go in-store, and fully prepared to cut back on spending if the nation returns to another lockdown."

In the third week of January, U.S. store traffic fell 33% and net sales in stores fell 16% year over year, according to store analytics firm Retail Next. The Western U.S. fared worst, with traffic down 38% year over year, followed by the Northeast (down 30%), the South (down 29%) and the Midwest (down 24%), RetailNext found.

Department stores are having a hard time, with Macy's seven-day rolling average down 37%, Nordstrom down 36% and Kohl's down 17%, Morgan Stanley said, citing data provided by Placer.ai. But even off-price stores, which by and large can't turn to e-commerce to make up for slower store sales, are entertaining fewer shoppers than last year. Nordstrom Rack, where traffic fell 32%, does have robust e-commerce and BOPIS services, but Burlington (down 9%), T.J. Maxx (down 2%), Marshalls (down 8%) and Ross (down 16%), do not. retaidive.com

Retail Comeback Hinges on Herd Immunity
Will vaccine reluctant Americans slow the retail comeback from COVID-19?
Getting back to some semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy in the U.S. is entirely dependent on the nation’s ability to get a handle on the coronavirus. Medical professionals and public policy experts have been pointing to individual and business safety measures as a means to tamp down the spread of the virus, but achieving herd immunity is the only currently viable path to that happening.

In order for the nation to reach herd immunity without the death toll stretching into the millions, the vast majority of the population will need to get vaccinated. The reality on the ground is that a large percentage of Americans, for a variety of reasons, are either reluctant, unwilling or, in a small percentage of cases, unable to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

A survey from First Insight finds that about a third of Americans are unsure as to whether they will be vaccinated or not, but that even with vaccines many people are not planning to suddenly go flocking to stores. Forty-five percent of beauty product shoppers said they would either go to stores less or the same after being vaccinated. The same holds true for 44 percent looking to buy footwear, 43 percent of consumer electronics purchasers and 40 percent shopping for apparel.

If the vaccine does not prove to be the medicine that retailers are counting on to help them bring their businesses back, there is clearly more pain ahead for the industry. CNBC reports that Coresight Research is forecasting that up to 10,000 stores will be closed this year.

“The rollout of vaccination programs should result in a partial recovery in store-based sales,” Coresight CEO Deborah Weinswig said. “However, these programs may take many months to reach a wide base of consumers.” retailwire.com

From Fast Food to Vaccines
Mount Pleasant, SC: Chick-fil-A Manager Called in to a Save COVID Vaccine Drive-Thru Struggling with Long Wait Times
No business can master a drive-thru like Chick-fil-A, and a restaurant manager is getting high praise for using the company’s method to help workers at a COVID-19 vaccination site after a computer glitch caused a traffic gridlock.

Mayor Will Haynie said he was notified on Jan. 22 that traffic was backed up for an hour at the COVID-19 vaccination site at Seacoast Church. He called Chick-fil-A Manager Jerry Walkowiak for help, knowing the company had a great reputation for mastering the art of drive-thru.

Haynie said Walkowiak, while standing out in the cold rain, used the Chick-fil-A method to speed up the drive-thru, including walking up to drivers in advance to make sure they had their paperwork and immediately directing them to a spot to receive their vaccine. Haynie said Walkowiak was able to reduce the wait from an hour to 15 minutes. fox13news.com

U.S. air travel hits 6-month low as Covid infections, travel restrictions hinder recovery

Gov. Cuomo announces NYC indoor dining can resume at 25% capacity beginning on Valentines Day, February 14

Great News: California has cut its cases in half and hospitalizations by a quarter

Researchers say a new coronavirus variant found in California may have contributed to Los Angeles' recent case surge

San Diego: COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Chafee leaves crew ‘panicking’

Love’s Offers $75 to it's 29,000+ Employees Who Take the COVID-19 Vaccine