Evening Briefing: The question of vaccine mandates

July 23, 2021

By Remy Tumin

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday.

A vaccine hub at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

1. U.S. cities and businesses are weighing vaccine mandates to help combat the spread of the Delta variant.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called on New York companies to require employee vaccinations, and said that he wanted to consider requiring vaccinations for people to participate in some indoor activities, like dining in restaurants. Vaccines remain effective against the worst outcomes of Covid-19, including from the Delta variant.

His comments came as several organizations around the country — including various hospital systems, schools, the city of San Francisco and professional football — took steps to require vaccinations. The National Football League announced a penalty that would ideally incentivize players to get vaccinated.

France has led the way in vaccine mandates, and prompted other countries like Italy to follow suit, even as the new approach stirs pockets of deep resistance.

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A mobile Covid-19 testing and vaccine station in Palmetto, Fla., on Thursday.Octavio Jones for The New York Times

2. The debate over vaccine mandates comes as Covid hospitalizations are rising in 45 states. Some Florida hospitals have more Covid-19 patients than ever.

Nationally, hospitalizations remain relatively low compared to earlier peaks in the pandemic. But in some regions with lagging vaccination rates and rising virus cases, the highly contagious Delta variant has flooded intensive care units and Covid wards. This map shows where Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising.

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The Delta variant is also making companies reconsider when they will require employees to return, and what health requirements should be in place when they do.

Naomi Osaka of Team Japan lights the Olympic cauldron.Doug Mills/The New York Times

3. The Tokyo Olympics officially opened to a sea of empty seats, a year later than planned.

The opening ceremony of the 32nd Summer Games tried to project a world moving on from more than a year of battling the coronavirus, even as the global caseload continues to rise. Wearing masks and waving exuberantly, athletes from around the world paraded in a vast and near-empty Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. The ceremony featured a sprinkle of traditional Japanese culture and Naomi Osaka, Japan's most famous athlete, lit the Olympic cauldron.

Here's the ceremony in pictures.

Tomorrow, swimming gets underway and the U.S. women's soccer team faces off against New Zealand at 7:30 a.m. Eastern. Here are some other highlights:

See how four Olympic athletes pull off their most difficult moves in gymnastics, climbing, hurdles and swimming.
Liberia changed Olympic fashion — with a little help from a Brooklyn designer.
These are the athletes to watch over the next two weeks, and here's a brief guide to every sport.

Cooling off in front of a fan in Lame Deer, Mont., on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.Tailyr Irvine for The New York Times

4. As if record-breaking temperatures weren't enough, a "heat dome" is forecast next week for much of the U.S.

Hot weather blanketing the Montana area will head east throughout the Northern and Central Plains over the next few days, the National Weather Service says. By next week, the Great Plains and Midwest — along with parts of the East — will have highs that are 10 to 15 degrees above average. That heat, combined with high humidity, could make it feel like temperatures have reached the 100s in some areas.

Recent flooding around the world has shown that even the newest subway systems are ill-equipped for an era of extreme weather driven by climate change.

The funeral for President Jovenel Moïse on the outskirts of Cap-Haitien, Haiti.Federico Rios for The New York Times

5. The funeral of Haiti's assassinated president laid bare a fractured nation's problems.

Tensions exploded in the streets before and during the funeral for Jovenel Moïse, and divisions marred what many had hoped would have been an opportunity to heal. A new government was installed in the capital this week, and its leaders vowed to get to the bottom of the killing and to build consensus.

Less than a half-hour into the funeral, the American delegation left and returned to the U.S. because of gunshots fired outside. In remarks delivered at the airport after the delegation's arrival, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said: "You deserve democracy, stability, security, and prosperity, and we stand with you in this time of crisis."

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The Central Prison in Freetown, Sierra Leone, earlier this year.Anne-Sophie Faivre Le Cadre/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

6. Sierra Leone became the 23rd African country to abolish the death penalty. Nearly half of the continent's countries now outlaw the practice.

The decision was one more step in a long-sought goal of civil society organizations and justice groups who see the death penalty as a vestige of Africa's colonial history. A vast majority of the 193 member states of the U.N. have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it.

Two views, wide (left) and close up (right), of a moon-forming disc surrounding a planet.ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/Benisty et al.

7. Meanwhile, 400 light-years from Earth …

Astronomers have, for the first time, detected moons forming around a distant exoplanet (a planet outside the solar system). The discovery of a disk of debris, gradually coalescing under its own gravity into moons, as it orbits a Jupiter-like exoplanet comes after years of observation. The findings will help scientists address one of the most perplexing questions in astronomy: How do planets and their moons form?

"It's rare, especially in our field, that you see something this beautiful," an astronomer said.

Also on the frontier of science: Two decades after the draft sequence of the human genome was unveiled to great fanfare, a team of 99 scientists has finally deciphered the entire thing, giving us a new view of our DNA.

Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan announces the team's name change.Tony Dejak/Associated Press

8. Cleveland's baseball team will become the Guardians after this season, dropping the "Indians" name it has used since 1915.

The team decided last year that it would no longer be called the Indians because it is considered offensive to many Native Americans. The organization followed the Washington Football Team, which dropped the name Redskins last year. The new name, which comes after months of deliberation, is a nod to a span of sculptures over a major bridge known as the Guardians of Traffic.

Baseballs aren't spinning the way they used to. Since Major League Baseball cracked down on sticky substances, spin rates on fastballs have fallen about 4 percent, strikeouts have decreased and on-base percentage has risen. These pitchers had the biggest drop in spin rates.

A tranquilized bear wakes up en route to its new home in the wilderness.Alana Paterson for The New York Times

9. Researchers in British Columbia are taking on a unique challenge: raising orphan grizzly cubs until they are big enough to release back to the wild.

Traditionally, grizzly mothers in North America tend their offspring for at least two years. But a few cubs ended up at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter, where a team is raising orphaned baby grizzlies, fattening them up and teaching them life skills. Next spring, the bears will be fitted with battery-operated radio collars and tracked for several years in the hopes that they can avoid the conflicts with humans that led to their mothers' deaths.

In other news from the animal kingdom, cockatoos in Sydney, Australia, invented a technique for opening trash bins. As one bird learned from another, the skill spread quickly through the suburbs like a new dance move.

A picnic in the park featuring a grilled zucchini salad and strawberry-tomato soda.Fujio Emura. Styled by Tim Ferro

10. And finally, a golden age of outdoor eating.

We spent the last year figuring out how best to eat and socialize outside, and this summer is an opportunity to apply what we've learned. T Magazine compiled a guide to the perfect picnic, tips on creating a table as stimulating as the company and playlist suggestions to accompany your summer meal. Our staff swears by these 20 summer potluck dishes.

For dessert, consider the Texas sheet cake, a chocolate cake with a pecan-laden, chewy fudge frosting and made in a shallow jelly roll pan. For many Texans, it has become a cultural touchstone after more than a century of regular appearances at large gatherings. Maybe it should be at yours, too.

Hope your weekend is full of delights.

David Poller compiled photos for this briefing.

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