US: 32M Cases - 576.3K Dead - 24.5M Recovered
Worldwide: 137.3M Cases - 2.9M Dead - 110.5M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
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Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 279  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 282
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Spotting Emergency Variant Hotspots Before Becoming Fourth Surge
As variants surge, efforts in a patchwork of surveillance have ramped up to detect them
The nation dramatically stepped up its surveillance for coronavirus variants in recent weeks, but experts say there’s much further to go if the Washington region — and the rest of the country — wants to stay ahead of new and potentially dangerous versions of the virus.

Conducting the genetic sequencing to detect for variants is far more expensive, time-consuming and sophisticated than testing whether people have contracted the coronavirus, leading to a patchwork system with some states aggressively seeking out variants and others lagging behind.

Nationwide, sequencing volume has tripled since early February, but the country had been so far behind in its efforts that CDC and public health experts say nearly all states still need far more sequencing to create an accurate picture of variants already circulating.

The uneven information about variants circulating in the country comes as states race to vaccinate residents ahead of a potential fourth surge in cases fueled by more contagious and potentially more deadly variants. Public health experts and epidemiologists hope the nation’s growing system can quickly spot emerging variants before they gain a dangerous foothold. washingtonpost.com

7,000 Stores - 49 States - 25M Shots Per Month
Walgreens Expands Covid-19 Vaccines To 49 States
Walgreens has expanded its Covid-19 vaccination efforts to more than 7,000 stores in 49 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

The expansion announced Monday comes as the Biden administration ramps up the number of doses sent to states while increasing the availability of doses sent directly to U.S. retail pharmacies including CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and others. These retail pharmacies are key to President Biden’s directive to have a vaccination site within five miles of 90% of Americans homes by April 19.

Walgreens, which has said it has the capacity to administer up to 20-25 million Covid-19 shots a month, has already administered more than 11 million Covid-19 doses. The increasing supply of vaccines from makers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson is the reason CVS and other drugstores and retailers with pharmacies are able to offer vaccinations.

“With the initiative to vaccinate residents and staff in long-term care facilities nearly complete, close to 60,000 immunizers are now administering vaccinations at more than 7,000 Walgreens stores and through off-site clinics,” Walgreens said Monday in a statement updating its progress.  forbes.com

Delaying 2nd Doses?
How to Double the Vaccination Pace

More experts think the U.S. should start delaying second vaccine shots.

Both cases and hospitalizations have risen in recent days, and deaths have stopped declining. In response, a growing number of medical experts are calling on the Biden administration or governors to change policy and prioritize first doses.

In a USA Today op-ed, Emanuel, Govind Persad and Dr. William Parker argue that spreading out the first and second shots would be both more equitable and more efficient. It’s more equitable because working-class, Black and Latino communities all have lower vaccination rates, which means that first shots disproportionately now go to the less privileged and second shots go to the more privileged. It’s more efficient because a delay in second shots would allow the country to double the number of people who receive a first shot in coming weeks.

Doing so could prevent other states from experiencing the current misery in Michigan, where a severe outbreak fueled by the B.1.1.7 variant has overwhelmed hospitals. In much of the South and the West, the variant is not yet as widespread. nytimes.com

Vaccine Effort Hits Speed Bump
CDC & FDA recommend US pause of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over blood clot concerns
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over six reported US cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot.

The six reported cases were among more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States. All six cases occurred among women ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination, according to a joint statement on Tuesday from Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

"CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance," the statement said. "FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution."  cnn.com

Majority of Small Business Owners Want Employees to get COVID-19 Vaccine
A majority of small business owners (64%) say it is very important that their employees get vaccinated—and 80% intend to get vaccinated themselves.

A recent survey of more than 3,300 small business owners shows strong support for ensuring employees get vaccinated.

And employees are taking notice, as 80% of respondents say employees are turning to them with questions. Eighty percent of small employers also report having informal conversations about vaccines and 56% have had formal conversations, including staff meetings and one-on-ones with employees. A majority (55%) of employers say they would use free or low-cost resources to provide guidance and information about COVID-19 vaccines. ehstoday.com

California - One of the Lowest Case Rates in America
Are herd immunity and the California coronavirus variant preventing a West Coast spring surge?
California had one of the lowest average daily coronavirus case rates in the nation over the most recent seven-day period, while Michigan’s case rate — the worst in the nation — was 12 times higher than California’s, placing growing strain on hospitals there. latimes.com

U.K. Strain Is More Contagious but Not as Severe, Study Finds


CEOs vs. Employees on Post-COVID Work Environment
Employees Balk at End to Remote Work: 'Going Back to the Office Is Stupid"
As the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations accelerates and states loosen restrictions, employers have slowly begun calling their employees back to the workplace, with the pace expected to pick up sharply over the next few months.

But what might have been a hopeful sign that life is returning to normalcy has instead become a source of friction as some workers push back. They are fearful of getting infected, worried about how to care for kids still learning remotely and resisting going back to the 9-to-5 in-office grind after tasting the flexibility of working from home.

How these conflicts play out could define the shape of the employment landscape not just in the near term but for years to come, experts say, as employers and workers begin negotiating the terms of re-engagement. For now, they are oceans apart: While 83 percent of CEOs want employees to return in person, only 10 percent of employees want to come back full time, according to a study by the Best Practice Institute. newsweek.com

Corporate Bellwether for Remote Work?
JPMorgan Plans To Have About 25,000 Of Its Employees Work From Home
JPMorgan Chase, a well-respected top-tier investment bank and financial institution, plans to have thousands of employees working permanently from home. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s highly regarded chief executive, said 10% of its 255,000 U.S.-based employees may work from home full time, and others could continue to work remotely for some of the time, according to a letter to shareholders released last Wednesday. JPMorgan, due to its prestige and status, serves as a corporate bellwether for the decisions it makes.  forbes.com

Governor Whitmer says remote work will be extended another six months

Salesforce pushes remote-work option to end of year

The Most At-Risk Retailers
Who is still at risk after last year's retail tribulations?

Party City, Nordstrom, Macy's, GameStop and others still have weak scores on measures of financial health, according to RapidRatings data.

While some retailers thrived, the pandemic brought financial strains if not outright turmoil to many companies. In 2020, Retail Dive tracked 30 major retailers that filed for bankruptcy.

Others, meanwhile, are searching for their footing in a retail environment undergoing continual change. The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has given both Americans in general and retailers reason for hope. Even so, foot traffic and sales to many discretionary retailers remain below 2019 levels.

That has made previously healthy businesses seem more wobbly than they did in 2019, and heavily indebted or weaker operators are even more vulnerable.

To track companies that are still in weak financial positions after last year's struggles, RapidRatings compiled a list for Retail Dive of 10 publicly traded companies with low scores in the firm's Financial Health Ratings. Those are a measure of short-term resiliency and default risk based on liquidity, leverage, earnings and other metrics. retaildive.com

Store Appearance Has Become an Afterthought
Crumpled clothes and bare shelves: As retailers like Walmart, Macy’s woo customers back, some have to clean up shop
Retailers adapted stores and workforces as more sales moved online during the pandemic. Portions of sales floors became staging areas for curbside pickup. Employees got trained to pack online orders, as well as help with customers in stores.

For some retailers, that has turned a store’s appearance into an afterthought. Bare spots on shelves and unkempt displays at Walmart prompted a research firm to downgrade its stock earlier this year. Macy’s, the storied department store that now must fend off internet savvy rivals, has also faced ridicule for its poor presentation.

The coming months may be especially crucial for retailers as they try to woo shoppers back to stores, where sales tend to be more profitable. Consumers have money they’ve stashed away after saving on commuting costs, eating out and traveling. Some have stimulus checks waiting to be spent. These shoppers may hit the mall to buy merchandise that has been off their radar for months: dresses, blazers, heels, swimsuits and make-up.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said it’s time for retailers to clean up their act — or risk losing customers. He snaps photos on shopping trips to better understand companies’ strategies and execution, which he then sends to his clients and posts across social media. He is quick to point out where retailers fall short: shabby signage, sloppy apparel or puzzling choices, such as setting up a large umbrella display at a store in Arizona, a state known for few rainy days. cnbc.com

Looks Like They're Backkkkkkk At The A's
Mall Traffic at 50 Top Tier Malls Shows Breakthrough Visits Surging 86% in March
But while this number is indeed impressive, it is also a very limited indicator as much of these same malls were already closed by mid-month in 2020, thus challenging the effectiveness of the metric to show what is really happening in context.

However, 2021 numbers can also be compared to ‘normal’ 2019 levels, and from this perspective too there was a clear and marked step forward. Comparing March 2021 visits to the same malls in March 2019 shows the visit gap down to just 23.9%, the lowest since the pandemic began. This was buoyed heavily by a 43.6% jump in visits between February and March further indicating that the ‘return’ to malls is in fact in full swing. And even accounting for the weather challenges in February and the fewer overall days, there was still a 25.7% jump in visits in March when compared to January, which had been a high point for the sector until then. placer.ai

Times Square crowds show NYC returning to life
As The Post’s Steve Cuozzo reports, 134,659 people are walking through the “bow tie” on an average day now, up from 33,659 last April — all as measured by the Times Square Alliance. It’s not the near-impassable mob of normal times, 355,302, but it’s up a healthy amount from the 105,000 daily average visitor tally The Post reported in February, and Broadway’s only starting to reopen.

Weekend numbers are better still: 151,605 visitors daily on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, four times the level of April 2020. nypost.com

The Same Story Across the Pond
Shoppers surge back to high streets as Covid lockdown eases in England
Shoppers have surged back onto high streets across England and Wales as fashion stores, toy shops, hairdressers and other nonessential retailers reopened their doors for the first time in more than three months.

The number of people in shopping destinations by 3pm on Monday was more than double the level of the previous Monday and only just over a quarter lower than 2019 levels, according to analysts at Springboard. theguardian.com

Costco reopens food court as McDonald’s closes locations at Walmart

Domino’s to begin autonomous pizza deliveries in Houston