New York City, California declare vaccine, testing mandates – National & International News – MON 26Jul2021

NYC, California announce vaccine/testing mandates. Stumbling blocks remain on infrastructure deal. Civilian deaths in Afghanistan up 47%.

NATIONAL NEWS

New York City, California declare vaccine, testing mandates

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and California Governor Gavin Newsom have announced the first major government-mandated COVID vaccine requirements. NYC city employees and CA state employees will have to either get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.

Beginning Sept. 13, all of NYC’s 340,000 city employees, including teachers, firemen, police officers and contractors, will have to be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID. Unvaccinated workers will also be required to wear masks when working in indoor environments. Any employee who refuses will be put on leave without pay. 

The scope of California’s mandate is a little broader still. California will require all 246,000 state employees to either get the jab or test and mask up. But unlike NYC, California’s order also applies to all health care workers, both public and private.

“Leading by example” – De Blasio

De Blasio’s mandate doesn’t seem to be driven by concerns over high numbers of unvaccinated people. New York City already has a relatively high vaccination rate among adults. Around 71% of adult New Yorkers have already received at least one vaccine dose. There are no specific numbers on vaccination rates among NYC employees, but it’s likely similar to that of the general population. 

Rather, De Blasio says, “We’re leading by example”. The mayor hopes that the city’s mandate for its own employees will embolden private employers to follow suit. “Right now,” De Blasio says, “there are employers ready to act, who will take heart from our announcement”.

“You’re putting innocent people’s lives at risk” – Newsom

Gov. Newsom and other California officials also urged private employers to require vaccines or testing for their employees. Newsom had particularly harsh words for anyone refusing a vaccine on ideological grounds. “It’s a choice to live with this virus. And with all due respect, you don’t have the choice to go out and drink and drive and put everybody else’s lives at risk,” Newsom said. “You’re putting innocent people’s lives at risk. You’re putting businesses at risk… We want to keep our economy moving. We want small businesses on their feet.”

Newsome also alluded to vaccine misinformation online and in the mass media. “Your choice not to get vaccinated and to listen to these pundits that are profiteering off misinformation, intentionally misinforming, comes at a real societal cost and we need to be clear about that, and we need to call that out”.

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Stumbling blocks remain for $1.2T infrastructure bill

Over a month ago, President Biden joined several Republican party leaders in announcing a roadmap towards a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Ever since, Senate leaders from both parties have been attempting to hammer out the details. The current price tag for this bill is floating around $1.2 trillion.

However, in the weeks since, some Republicans who initially supported the bipartisan bill are now having second thoughts. Republicans who at first championed the bill believed they had won a major political victory by excluding Biden’s larger vision of $trillions in “human infrastructure” spending from the package. GOP ardor for the smaller “traditional” infrastructure bill has cooled somewhat since Democrats announced a $3.5T budget proposal which includes much of Biden’s social-spending wishlist. Democrats hope to pass the budget through reconciliation, bypassing a GOP filibuster

Last week, in a fruitless effort to inject more momentum into the stalled bipartisan bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called a procedural vote to open debate. Republicans soundly blocked the vote.

Negotiators from both parties in the bipartisan effort say several major disagreements remain. These include spending on public transport, wage increases, broadband expansion and clean water delivery. Nevertheless, Schumer says he may call another procedural vote on the bipartisan bill as early as today.

Throwing another political spanner into the works is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Speaker Pelosi has declared she will not call a House vote on the bipartisan bill until the $3.5 trillion budget has passed. This has further incensed GOP negotiators.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Civilian deaths in Afghanistan up 47%

The UN’s Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) says it has recorded 1,659 Afghan civilian deaths and about 3,500 injuries between January and June 2021. That’s a 47% increase over the same period in 2020.

Nearly half (2,400) of the total casualties occurred in May and June of this year. This is the highest two-month total since UNAMA started keeping track in 2009.

The sharp escalation in civilian deaths reflects the intense struggle between Taliban and Afghan government forces for control of the country. But perhaps even more alarming from Kabul’s perspective is the vast amount of territory the Taliban has captured without firing a single shot. These conquests include key border crossings and territories along the Afghan borders with Pakistan and Iran in the south.

The Taliban has also been busy up north, where Afghanistan shares borders with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Rather than sending its own fighters up from the south, the Taliban has simply recruited local Turkmen, Uzbeks and Tajiks to their cause.

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