All private-sector employees in New York City will be required to get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 starting Dec. 27, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York.

• District of Columbia: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday issued a new annual malaria report that recorded a notable increase in malaria deaths in 2020. According to the report, cases rose from 227 million in 2019 to 241 million in 2020—and deaths rose from 558,000 to 627,000. While disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic were partially responsible for the increase, Pedro Alonso, director of WHO's Global Malaria Programme, argued that "[w]e became a little too complacent." However, with the recent approval of the first-ever malaria vaccine, Alonso estimated that there could be "between 40,000 and 80,000 [fewer] deaths every year." (Silberner, "Goats and Soda," NPR, 12/6)

• Maryland: University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) last month appointed Jason Carter as SVP and COO. Carter has held multiple leadership positions in hospital settings with over 900 beds and most recently served as associate VP for clinical operations at Wake Forest Baptist Health. UM BWMC also announced that Karen Cook and W. Drew Hawkins would be joining the hospital's board of directors where they will serve three-year terms. (Jensik, Becker's Hospital Review, 12/6)

• New York: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Monday extended the city's Covid-19 vaccine mandate to cover all private-sector workers. New York is the first city in the nation to issue an "across the board" vaccine requirement that applies to all private-sector employers. Under the mandate, workers from about 184,000 businesses must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 starting Dec. 27. According to de Blasio, "[t]he more universal [mandates] are, the more likely employees will say, 'OK, it's time, I'm going to do this.'" He added, "Because you can't jump from one industry to another or one company to another. It's something that needs to be universal to protect all of us." (Pascus, Modern Healthcare, 12/6)