Your Tuesday Briefing

Germany wants to administer booster vaccines to older people, residents of care homes and people with compromised immune systems.Credit…Matthias Rietschel/Reuters

Germany plans booster shots

As concerns grow over the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, Germany has become the biggest Western country to announce that it will offer vaccine booster shots to a wide range of people considered potentially vulnerable.

Israel, Russia, Hungary and France already are offering boosters to specific populations. In Britain, health officials are preparing to give them as early as September. And Italy and Spain have said they will likely make boosters available to certain groups this fall.

But none have indicated that they would go as far as Germany has. It wants to administer booster vaccines to older people, residents of care homes and people with compromised immune systems — as well as anyone who was already fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson shots, which clinical trials have shown are not as protective.

Another view: The E.U. foreign policy chief criticized the bloc for falling short of vaccine donations to Africa and Latin America, creating a vacuum that China is filling. And health experts say the top priorities should be distributing doses to poor countries and persuading vaccine-resistant people in wealthy countries to get their first shots.

Elsewhere: Health officials in San Francisco and surrounding counties introduced a universal indoor mask mandate, as did the state of Louisiana. Mayor Bill de Blasio urged vaccinated New Yorkers to wear masks indoors but balked at a mask mandate.

The U.S. finally reached President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of eligible adults at least partly vaccinated, a month later than he had hoped. But Florida is seeing its highest number of cases and hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.

YouTube suspended Sky News Australia for spreading coronavirus misinformation.

U.S. companies fight for foreign workers

Since the coronavirus pandemic first halted and then seriously constrained the stream of foreign workers into the U.S., the competition for seasonal workers from overseas has been particularly fierce.

Even with a visa cap increased, roadblocks like travel restrictions, backlogs and delays at consulates in approving applicants have left American businesses in the lurch.

Temporary guest workers have also gotten entangled in broader and more bitter arguments over immigration. In the meantime, employers are struggling.

“Fifteen, 20 years ago we were able to get local summer kids in high school or college,” the owner of a Utah landscaping business said. “Those workers are just not there anymore.”

Context: Programs for temporary guest workers have long come under attack from several corners. Labor groups and immigration critics argue that it robs American workers of jobs and depresses wages.

Simone Biles plans to return to the Olympics

Simone Biles, the star of the U.S. gymnastics team, said she would compete in the balance beam final at the Tokyo Games, after she withdrew from most events because of mental health concerns.

Biles, who skipped the team final nearly a week ago, said it would have been dangerous to perform her complicated and daring routines because she had lost the ability to gauge where she was in the air in relation to the ground.

The gymnast, 24, is considering retirement, but she has hinted that she might try to return for the 2024 Games in Paris to honor her French coaches.

Details: The balance beam event, which takes place in a few hours, will wrap up the women’s gymnastics competition. Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing of China, who ranked first and second in the qualifying round, are also contenders for the gold. Here’s what to watch for.

The latest from the Games:

• Poland offered asylum to a Belarusian sprinter who feared being jailed in her home country after criticizing her coaches.

• Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won the women’s 5,000 meters and now looks to the 1,500 and 10,000.

• The U.S. gymnast Jade Carey won gold on the floor exercise with what she called “the best floor routine I’ve ever done in my life.”

• The World Cup-winning U.S. women’s soccer team lost to Canada, 1-0, in the semifinals.

• The New Zealand weight lifter Laurel Hubbard made history as the first openly transgender woman to participate in the Olympics.

The Latest News

News From Europe

• Britain is having second thoughts six years after letting China take an ownership stake in its newest nuclear power plants. Attracting investors for a planned power station facing the North Sea, above, is now in doubt because the project is one-fifth owned by China.

• When recent storms flooded the Queen guitarist Brian May’s basement, he laid part of the blame on wealthy residents who for years have been building luxury basements that obstruct aquifers and interfere with natural drainage.

What Else Is Happening

• Haitian officials said they received death threats for refusing to tamper with evidence in the assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse. Two court clerks and an investigative judge who examined the bodies of Haiti’s slain president are now in hiding.

• The U.S. State Department is offering potential refugee status to several new categories of Afghans who assisted the U.S. and others during the war in Afghanistan, including those who worked for news media and nongovernmental organizations.

A Morning Read

Venice’s ban on the big cruise ships that fill its lagoon and canals went into effect, leaving some tourists docked hours away from the city’s famous sights.

ARTS AND IDEAS

996 work culture

The reporter Vivian Wang wrote about Chinese work culture in The Morning today. Here’s a condensed version.

To understand work culture in China, start with a number: 996. It’s shorthand for the grueling schedule that has become the norm at many Chinese firms: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

The term originated in the technology sector around five years ago, when companies were racing to compete with Silicon Valley. Now, tech behemoths like Alibaba, Huawei and ByteDance, which owns TikTok, are household names.

Tech workers are starting to resist the at-all-costs culture. This year, 996 shot back into the news after two workers died at Pinduoduo, an e-commerce giant. Some Gen Zers have turned to Mao Zedong’s writings on communism to rage against capitalist exploitation. And an online craze this year called on young people to “tangping,” or “lie flat” — essentially, to opt out of the rat race.

Some companies have taken steps to improve work-life balance. Kuaishou, a short-video app, in July ended a policy requiring its staff to work on weekends twice a month. One division of another tech giant, Tencent, began encouraging workers to go home at 6 p.m. — though only on Wednesdays.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Cumin, chile and Sichuan peppercorns are the stars of this bold tofu stir-fry.

Wellness

Do you get migraines? The right mix of foods may help.

What to Watch

Stream a Polish film about an influencer, a nail-biting Indian crime thriller and more international films.

Now Time to Play

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Figure of speech (five letters).

And here is today’s Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. Thanks for joining me. — Victoria

P.S. Lauren Lopez joined The Times from the National Basketball Association as senior vice president of talent management.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is about how breakthrough infections are changing the pandemic.

You can reach Victoria and the team at [email protected].