US: Over 26.9M Cases - 454K Dead - 16.6M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 104M Cases - 2.2M Dead - 75M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 271  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 224
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Biden administration will ship COVID vaccine directly to pharmacies
More than 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be made available to about 6,500 pharmacies across the U.S. beginning Feb. 11, the White House said Tuesday.

Why it matters: Local, national and supermarket pharmacies have an existing customer base, user portals and other established resources when it comes to mass flu and shingles immunization protocols. The federal government hopes this will expand access and speed up the vaccination process.

Yes, but: The demand for vaccine in these new channels is expected to far outweigh the supply, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a press briefing Tuesday.

The state of play: The million doses are in addition to the 10.5 million doses that are scheduled to go to states, and other jurisdictions. Eventually the federal government wants to reach 40,000 pharmacies to provide vaccinations. axios.com

Retailers Preparing to Take a Central Vaccine Role
Covid-19 Vaccines to Stress-Test Grocery Stores and Pharmacies

CVS, Walgreens, Kroger and others will require appointments, hope to avoid logjams as they join national effort

Some of America’s biggest retailers are preparing to take a central role in administering Covid-19 shots, hoping to avoid logjams and other complications that have slowed the vaccine rollout’s early days.

Not all Americans are eligible for the vaccines, and shots remain in short supply. But vaccines are becoming more broadly available in some states, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to make them available in local pharmacies beginning next month. There is no cost to receive the vaccine.

The job of vaccinating large swaths of the population will fall largely on retail pharmacies, with companies such as CVS Health Corp., Walgreens-Boots Alliance Inc., Walmart Inc. and Kroger Co. saying they are prepared to give tens of millions of shots a month.

Pharmacies are well-positioned to play a major role in Covid-19 vaccination efforts, industry executives say, because they are among the most-accessible health-care providers for many Americans, including people 65 and older who often pick up medication from local supermarkets or drugstores. These businesses say they also can draw from their experience in providing shots for flu, shingles and other illnesses.

CVS and Walgreens combined have 19,000 U.S. stores, while Walmart, Rite Aid Corp., Kroger and Publix Super Markets Inc., together have another 11,000 locations. Add to that dozens of regional grocers with pharmacy counters.

Drugstore chains and retailers with pharmacies say they have the manpower and physical space to handle mass vaccinations and, in some areas, have already stepped in to help local and state officials. Big chains say they have online scheduling tools capable of handling an influx of appointments.

Among the biggest challenges now for retailers is dealing with customers eager to know when it’s their turn. wsj.com

COVID-19 vaccine bodes well for a retail recovery
Top U.S. retailers view the COVID-19 vaccine as a key part of retail recovery in 2021 and a good number of big retailers are optimistic about the industry this year, according to Emarsys research.

Nearly one in five of retailers polled, 19%, said 2021 will be a much better year for business thanks to vaccine rollouts, according to a press release on the data findings.

While a fifth of large U.S. retailers expect significant business challenges even with the vaccine rollout, one in five are less fearful of doing things differently in 2021, and 19% will invest more in fulfillment and supply chains this year.

"2020 was clearly a very challenging year for the retail industry across the world, but as our research shows, there are plenty of reasons to be positive about the outlook for 2021," Alex Timlin, SVP verticals at Emarsys, said in the release.

"One of the reasons why 2021 will be more positive is that during 2020, retailers have collected far more data on customer behavior and product preference thanks to the rise in e-commerce. 2021, therefore, will be about how retailers use those new insights to inform their marketing strategy, product portfolio and tactical marketing execution. That's important because it will help retailers personalize far more effectively, which is the foundation of a winning customer experience," Timlin said. retailcustomerexperience.com

134 Grocery COVID Deaths, 29K Infections To-Date
Why grocery chains are paying workers to get vaccinated, but other industries are lagging
A number of leading grocery chains are offering small cash bonuses and other incentives to encourage employees to get the coronavirus vaccine, in an effort that experts say could help speed protection of some of the country’s most vulnerable workers: low-paid, hourly retail workers.

Dollar General, Trader Joe’s, Aldi and Lidl, as well as Instacart, have announced plans to promote the vaccine among employees, including flexible work schedules, paid time off to visit a vaccination site and bonuses of up to $200.

The restaurant industry may also be moving toward incentives. On Tuesday, Darden Restaurants, which employs more than 175,000 workers across Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and many more brands, said it would offer up to four hours of paid time off to get the vaccine.

However, few other companies have followed suit, potentially in part because of legal uncertainties involved with health screening questionnaires leading up to vaccination.

Grocery workers have remained vulnerable on the front lines as hazard pay expires, customers flout safety guidelines and the virus rages on. As of Friday, at least 134 grocery workers had died of covid-19 since the pandemic started, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. More than 28,700 workers had been exposed to a positive case. washingtonpost.com

Survey: Consumers expect health and safety to remain priority for retailers
Retailers hoping they could ease or eliminate in-store COVID-19 mitigation efforts in the event of widespread vaccinations may need to change plans.

Even if the majority of Americans are vaccinated, 79% of consumers said they expect retailers to continue enforcing health and safety restrictions, according to a survey by shopping rewards app ShopKick. The restrictions include requiring protective face coverings for shoppers and employees (89%), offering disinfectants for shoppers (86%), enforcing social distancing (80%), keeping plexiglass barriers at checkout (74%), and limiting the capacity of shoppers allowed inside (62%).

According to 62% of respondents, enforcing these guidelines would influence where they choose to shop. chainstoreage.com

COVID-19 vaccine: Contracted security guards “slipping through the cracks”
For several weeks, frontline workers across the U.S. have been getting the COVID-19 vaccine. But some workers who are on the frontlines say they don’t have access to the vaccine.

“We want to get the vaccine as soon as possible,” said Justin Edwards, a privately contracted security guard who has been been working full-time at a COVID-19 testing site since last May. “I am out there dealing with the public, people that have symptoms, and people that have COVID.”

INA Security Services in Pennsylvania emailed State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in December asking the state to include security guards in Phase 1 of the vaccination plan. The email pointed out that many security guards work at pharmacies and hospitals and come in contact with people on a daily basis.

The Pa. Department of Health responded weeks later saying “security guards may be included in 1A, 1B or 1C, depending on where they work. For instance, hospital workers, including security, would be covered in 1A. Security at financial institutions would be covered under 1C."

Where does that leave privately contracted security guards? “We are kind of slipping through the cracks here,” Edwards said. abc27.com

UK: Male Security Guards Have One of Highest COVID-19 Death Rates
The Office for National Statistics has published the latest figures regarding COVID-19 death by occupation, again revealing a high death rate in the security sector. The ONS' key conclusion is that men working in "low-skilled" jobs, such as the care sector, service jobs and security are at most risk.

After the elementary occupations group, those working in security occupations have the second highest rate of death involving COVID-19, with 93.4 deaths per 100,000 males (153 deaths). Most of these deaths were among security guards and related occupations (140 deaths; 100.7 deaths per 100,000 males). Men working as security guards had one of the highest rates, with 45.7 deaths per 100,000 (63 deaths).

Why Security Guards?
A report, commissioned by Corps Security from Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International, revealed seven key issues that may contribute to security officers having one of the highest COVID-19 death rates. This includes age, working location, ethnicity, and working in close proximity to others.

The very nature of the role of security officers influences their risk to COVID-19. Being a frontline key worker may mean encountering conflict when trying to enforce COVID-19 guidelines and this may make social distancing more difficult. They also have to touch equipment and technology others have handled on a regular basis and may find it difficult to ensure they carry out frequent hand-washing. twinfm.com

How to Get a Covid-19 Vaccine: a State-by-State Guide
Each state is different, with some allowing residents to pre-register and others coordinating via employer or local health department

N.Y.C.’s Covid Metrics Are Dire. Cuomo Is Reopening Restaurants Anyway.

Long Beach, CA: Kroger shutting two stores over local ‘hero pay’ ordinance

Moderna wants to increase the number of vaccine doses in each vial by as much as 50%

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine 92% effective in fighting COVID-19

Sir Thomas Moore, WWII veteran who raised millions in COVID-19 funds, dies at 100