Mandates and Vaccine for Kids?

As cases of the Delta variant continue to rise, the latest in vaccine news suggests children as young as 5 may soon be able to receive a jab. According to?The New York Times, COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 could be available as soon as the end of October. According to the report, the timeline is based on the expectation that Pfizer-BioNTech will have enough data from clinical trials to seek emergency use authorization for that age group from the FDA towards the end of this month.

The latest development follows last week’s controversial mandate from the White House. Recall, on Thursday, President Biden announced a far-reaching vaccine mandate that applies to most federal workers, hospitals, public schools, and many private-sector employees. The expansive rules will demand that private employers with more than 100 workers require their staff to be vaccinated or test weekly for COVID-19 affecting roughly 80M Americans. Government and health care workers will also be required to get vaccinated – with no option to opt for regular testing – impacting another roughly 17M Americans.

At a time when many businesses are still struggling outright, not to mention struggling with safety protocols, additional compliance costs and verification measures for the new mandate adds an additional layer of complication to say the least. The rule also requires employers provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated and an unspecified period of paid time off to?“recover”?if they are ill after the shot. While a number of questions regarding details and specifics remain unanswered, one thing that has been clearly laid out is noncompliance could lead to fines of nearly $14,000 per violation. The enforcement agency will be the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), although the mechanism for ensuring compliance is less clear.

The legal footing for the President’s mandate stems from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has the authority to enforce regulations affecting workers' well-being. Thus, while potentially?“legal,”?robust and numerous challenges are expected. Additionally, outside of the courtroom, employees may choose to push back against the mandate demanding heath or religious exemptions or simply seeking employers with fewer than 100 employees to avoid the mandate altogether. In an already extremely competitive job market, at the very least, this will expectedly add additional complications to find workers.

While some corporations?“study”?the President’s mandate announcement, as Walgreens and Intel suggested, others such as Delta and GM were quick to highlight efforts they have already taken to encourage employees to be vaccinated, stopping short, however, of endorsing Biden's plan

Of course, now, with the vaccine potentially approved for children in the coming weeks many are also asking if a second wave of rules from Washington will mandate America’s youth to receive the jab??

On the economic front, on Friday the latest inflation figures showed prices continue to rise despite the Fed’s ongoing message of transitory and the Committee’s apparent hesitancy, or at least increasingly slow progression to begin the taper process. On Friday, the PPI rose 0.7% in August, a tenth of a percentage point more than the 0.6% gain expected, according to?Bloomberg, and following a 1.0% rise the month prior. Year-over-year, producer prices jumped 8.3% in August, the largest gain on records dating back to 2010.

Food prices rose 2.9%, and energy prices increased 0.4% in August. Excluding food and energy costs, the core PPI rose 0.6%, as expected, and following a 1.0% increase in July. Year-over-year, the core PPI increased 6.7%, also the largest gain on record.

Additionally, services costs rose 0.7%, due to a 1.5% gain in trade costs, and a 2.8% increase in transportation and warehousing costs in August.

The latest inflation read comes as Kroger, the U.S.'s largest supermarket by sales, says prices are headed (even) higher later this year. According to the Ohio-based chain, shoppers should prepare to pay 2% to 3% more over the second half of this year.?

This morning, the economic calendar is empty.

Tomorrow, the CPI is expected to rise 0.4% in August and 5.3% over the past 12 months, down from the 5.4% increase in July. The core CPI – excluding food and energy prices – is expected to increase 0.3% in August and 4.2% year-over-year.

-Lindsey Piegza, Ph.D., Chief Economist