Raphael Stevens

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior WHO official, warned high levels of transmission give the virus more opportunity to replicate and mutate, raising the risk that another variant will emerge.
New infections have increased by 20% globally over the past week with nearly 19 million total reported cases.
“This pandemic is nowhere near over,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said.

Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme attends a news conference on the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Geneva, Switzerland, March 16, 2020.
Christopher Black | WHO | Reuters

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said the pandemic will not end as the omicron variant subsides in some countries, warning the high levels of infection around the world will likely lead to new variants as the virus mutates.
“We’re hearing a lot of people suggest that omicron is the last variant, that it’s over after this. And that is not the case because this virus is circulating at a very intense level around the world,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said during a coronavirus update in Geneva.

New infections have increased by 20% globally over the past week with nearly 19 million total reported cases, according to the WHO. But Van Kerkhove noted that new infections that go unreported would make the real number much higher.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior WHO official, warned high levels of transmission give the virus more opportunity to replicate and mutate, raising the risk that a new variant will emerge.
“We don’t fully understand the consequences of letting this thing run,” Aylward said. “Most of what we’ve seen so far in areas of uncontrolled transmission has been we paid a price for the variants that emerge and new uncertainties we have to manage as we go forward.”

CNBC Health & Science

Van Kerkhove said now is not the time to relax public health measures, such as curtailing mask wearing and physical distancing. She called on governments to strengthen those measures to bring the virus under better control and head off future waves of infection as new variants emerge.
“If we don’t do this now, we will move on to the next crisis,” Van Kerkhove said. “And we need to end the crisis that we are currently in and we can do that at the present time. So don’t abandon the science. Don’t abandon the strategies that are working, that are keeping us and our loved ones safe,” she said.

Van Kerkhove called on governments to invest more in surveillance systems to track the virus as it mutates. “This won’t be the last variant of concern,” she stressed.
In December, a team of South African scientists published a small study that found people infected with omicron may have increased immune protection against the delta variant. A growing body of research has also found that people infected with omicron generally don’t get as sick as people infected with delta. Increased immune protection and less severe illness, taken together, could result in the virus becoming less disruptive to society, the South African scientists wrote.
However, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday said it is too early to predict whether omicron will mark the final wave of the pandemic.
“I would hope that that’s the case, but that would only be the case if we don’t get another variant that eludes the immune response of the prior variant,” Fauci told the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda via video conference.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said new infections are peaking in some countries, providing hope that the worst of the omicron wave is over. However, Tedros said no country is out of the woods yet, warning that health-care systems are still under pressure from the unprecedented wave of infections.
“I urge everyone to do their best to reduce risk of infection so that you can help take pressure off the system,” Tedros said. “Now is not the time to give up and wave the white flag.”
The WHO has repeatedly warned that unequal distribution of vaccines worldwide has led to low immunization rates in developing countries, leaving vast populations vulnerable to the emergence of new variants. The WHO had set a target for every country to vaccinate 40% of its population by the end of 2021. However, 92 countries have not achieved that goal, according to the WHO.
“This pandemic is nowhere near over and with the incredible growth of omicron globally, new variants are likely to emerge, which is why tracking and assessment remain critical,” Tedros said.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

The federal government has started rolling out the website, covidtests.gov, where Americans can order Covid tests online for free.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the website is in its testing phase and will officially launch Wednesday morning.
However, many Americans were able to submit orders on Tuesday, while others experienced problems.

Take home COVID-19 self testing kits provided by the District of Columbia government, which provides city residents four free take home tests per day, are seen in this illustration taken January 11, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

Americans on Tuesday started placing orders for free Covid tests promised by the Biden administration after the federal government rolled out the website a day earlier than expected — with some complaining on social media that they were blocked from ordering the tests.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the website, covidtests.gov, is in its testing phase and will officially launch Wednesday morning. Orders placed during the website’s testing phase Tuesday are valid and will be shipped, White House spokesman Kevin Munoz told CNBC.

Every household, based on residential address, is limited to four tests. The White House said last week it capped the number of tests people can order to ensure broad access to the program.
Tests can be ordered here: https://www.covidtests.gov/
After a user clicks on “order free at-home tests,” the website redirects the user to a Postal Service order form, where they submit a name and address before checking out.
The Postal Service will ship the tests 7 to 12 days after orders are placed, according to the Biden administration. The website on Tuesday said orders would start shipping at the end of the month.
While some users said the website was simple and easy to use, others — particularly people who live in apartment buildings — reported problems in social media posts on Tuesday.

“Every website launch, in our view, comes with risk,” Psaki told reporters during a White House briefing Tuesday. “We can’t guarantee there won’t be a bug or two. But the best tech teams across the administration and the Postal Service are working hard to make this a success,” she said.
The White House launched the website after a public outcry over widespread testing shortages during the busy holiday travel season as the highly contagious Covid omicron variant swept the country. Pharmacies large and small struggled to keep at-home tests in stock as demand suddenly surged.
President Joe Biden said the administration is procuring a total of 1 billion at-home tests to distribute to Americans for free. The Defense Department is awarding contracts for the tests in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services.

CNBC Health & Science

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

The White House earlier Tuesday said it was in talks with telecom companies, airlines and regulators.
Airlines have warned a rollout of 5G could cause flight cancellations.

AT&T and Verizon on Tuesday said they would temporarily delay deployment of 5G service at towers near some U.S. airports after airlines warned the rollout would cause flight cancellations.
The company’s statement came just hours after the Biden administration said it was in talks with telecom companies, government agencies and airlines about the dispute.

The 5G C-Band service sits next to frequencies used by key instruments on modern aircraft and the FAA had warned it could interfere with those systems, such as radio altimeters.
AT&T and Verizon are scheduled to begin the 5G rollout on Wednesday.
“At our sole discretion we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly plan for this deployment,” AT&T said in a statement.
The company said it was “frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner. We are launching our advanced 5G services everywhere else as planned with the temporary exception of this limited number of towers.”
Verizon also said it would “voluntarily” limit the 5G network near airports. “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our nation’s airlines have not been able to fully resolve navigating 5G around airports, despite it being safe and fully operational in more than 40 other countries,” it said.

AT&T and Verizon didn’t say how many airports were affected and how long the delays would last.
Still, some international airlines, including Emirates and Japan Airlines, said they would cancel some U.S. flights because of potential interference. Boeing notified Japan Airlines that 5G signals for U.S. mobile phones “may interfere with the radio wave altimeter installed on the Boeing 777.” That notification was sent before the telecom companies agreed to the new limitations.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg released a statement saying he recognized the economic importance of transitioning to 5G, “and we appreciate the wireless companies working with us to protect the flying public and the country’s supply chain.” He said U.S. airspace “leads the world in safety because of our high standards for aviation, and we will maintain this commitment as wireless companies deploy 5G.”
The agreement to postpone the debut near airports will reduce delays but the Transportation Department still expects some flight disruptions. 
Aviation executives repeatedly urged the Biden administration to step in, writing the White House and heads of the FAA, FCC and Transportation Department on Monday, warning of “economic calamity” if the rollout is not limited near airports. They said modern aircraft use radio altimeters for a variety of safety systems and that those planes “will be deemed unusable” and could be grounded.
“In addition to the chaos caused domestically, this lack of usable widebody aircraft could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas,” said the letter, which was signed by CEOs of Delta, United, Southwest, American and the heads of the aviation arms of UPS and FedEx.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Peloton is working with management consulting group McKinsey & Co. to review its cost structure and potentially eliminate some jobs, CNBC has learned.
Chief Financial Officer Jill Woodworth had said in early November that the company was looking to lower costs as the pace of revenue growth and new subscriptions slowed.
At the end of this month, Peloton will tack on fees for delivery and assembly of its Bike and Tread products, citing historic levels of inflation and heightened supply chain costs.

John Foley, co-founder and chief executive officer of Peloton Interactive Inc., stands for a photograph during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in front of the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Peloton is working with management consulting group McKinsey & Co. to review its cost structure and potentially eliminate some jobs, CNBC has learned.
The possible job cuts were discussed in a recent call with members of Peloton’s management team, according to a recording obtained by CNBC. The apparel division, which has seen particularly weak sales, is one area that could be targeted. The company doesn’t disclose revenue from its apparel business.

Peloton is also considering asking employees at its brick-and-mortar retail stores to take customer service calls during less busy times, according to the call. At one point, a Peloton executive on the call said that 15 stores are “on the cut line.” Peloton operated 123 showrooms as of June 30, in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany.
CNBC also viewed more than a dozen messages from an internal app for employees, as well as Slack messages, where workers have been discussing the expected job cuts and Peloton’s plummeting stock price.
“Morale is at an all-time low,” said one employee, who requested anonymity to be able to speak freely to CNBC. “The company is spinning out so fast.”
A Peloton spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A McKinsey spokesman declined to comment.
Peloton’s market cap has fallen to $10.2 billion, as its shares tumbled 76% last year, after rising more than 440% in 2020. The decline has continued into this year, with Peloton shares hitting a 52-week low of $29.11 on Tuesday.

Chief Financial Officer Jill Woodworth had said in early November that the company was looking to lower costs. That’s as the pace of revenue growth and new subscriptions has slowed dramatically from the early days of the Covid pandemic.
“Some of these identified areas of savings include making significant adjustments to our hiring plans across the company, optimizing marketing spend and limiting showroom development,” Woodworth said at the time.
Peloton had ramped up investments to meet rampant consumer demand. But that demand has since weakened as shoppers pick from other at-home fitness options or choose to go back to the gym.
In the three-month period ended Sept. 30, Peloton onboarded about 161,000 connected fitness subscribers, the lowest net addition in eight quarters. Revenue grew 6% year over year, compared with a 250% increase in the same quarter in 2020.
In November, Peloton implemented a hiring freeze. It employed 6,743 people in the United States as of June 30, more than double the roughly 3,281 employees it counted a year earlier, according to annual filings.
At the end of this month, Peloton will begin tacking on hundreds of dollars in fees for delivery and assembly of its Bike and Tread products, citing historic levels of inflation and heightened supply chain costs. Previously, those fees were included in the price of the Bike and the Tread. That will bring the cost of the products to $1,745 from $1,495 and $2,845 from $2,495, respectively.
“Right now, people are raising prices. Ikea just raised prices. We want to go in the middle of the pack,” Dara Treseder, Peloton’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in a separate recorded meeting.
By asking future customers to take on shipping and setup costs, Peloton will save on those expenses, which have likely weighed even heavier on profits as the company’s sales slow.
The company has been posting losses and has said it doesn’t expect to be profitable – before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – until fiscal 2023.
In early November, the fitness company slashed its fiscal 2022 outlook, projecting revenue of between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, down from its prior estimates of $5.4 billion. It also cut expectations for subscribers to a range of 3.35 million to 3.45 million, down from 3.63 million.
In recent weeks, a number of analysts said they anticipate the company had a weaker holiday, which could prompt another cut to its annual guidance.
“Peloton is a company with a great following and a great community,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel. “But it has increasingly shown that it was also a company that grew too far too fast.”

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Emirates, ANA and Japan Airlines were among the carriers to cancel some U.S. flights over concerns that new 5G service could interfere with some onboard systems.
AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the deployment of 5G near airports temporarily but didn’t provide additional detail.
U.S. airlines had also prepared to cancel flights before the telecom giants agreed on the delay.

A Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane (R) taxis past another from All Nippon Airways (ANA) at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture on July 18, 2021.
David Gannon | AFP | Getty Images

Several foreign airlines are canceling flights to the U.S. over concerns about 5G interference, despite a last-minute commitment from telecom giants Verizon and AT&T to delay the deployment of the new service near some airports.
Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Emirates Airline said Tuesday some flights to the U.S. will be suspended.

Dubai-based Emirates said affected destinations are Boston; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Miami; Orlando, Florida; San Francisco; Newark, New Jersey, and Seattle. Service to Los Angeles, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Washington, D.C., will operate as scheduled.
“Emirates regrets any inconvenience caused,” the airline said in a statement. “We are working closely with aircraft manufacturers and the relevant authorities to alleviate operational concerns, and we hope to resume our US services as soon as possible.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had warned the 5G service could interfere with some sensitive equipment on board certain aircraft such as radio altimeters, which measure the plane’s distance from the ground. That instrument is especially crucial for low-visibility landings, which are common during winter snowstorms and other types of weather.
Airlines had warned that the safety concerns would force them to cancel flights and repeatedly urged the White House to step in.
Some U.S. airlines were planning to cancel flights as early as Tuesday before the deal with AT&T and Verizon but were still reviewing the latest rules.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Airlines have warned for weeks about potential flight cancellations as a result of the rollout.
The FAA had raised concerns about how 5G signals could interfere with sensitive flight equipment like radio altimeters.
AT&T and Verizon earlier this month agreed to delay the rollout until Jan. 19.

An Alaska Airlines plane takes off from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on January 18, 2022, as seen from Washington, DC.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

The White House said it working with airlines, wireless providers and federal agencies on a solution to a dispute over the rollout of 5G service, scheduled to begin Wednesday, that airlines say may interfere with navigation systems and could force them to cancel flights.
“The administration is actively engaged with the FAA, FCC, wireless carriers, airlines, and aviation equipment manufacturers to reach a solution that maximizes 5G deployment while protecting air safety and minimizing disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery,” said a White House official.

Aviation industry executives have for weeks warned about potential flight disruptions stemming from the new service and repeatedly urged the White House to step in. Some flight cancellations could be announced as early as Tuesday, people familiar with the airlines’ plans said. Most recently, on Monday, CEOs from passenger and cargo carriers wrote to Biden administration officials urging them to block the rollout of the service within 2 miles of airport runways.
The Federal Aviation Administration had warned that the fifth generation C-band service could interfere with certain airline equipment like radio altimeters, which are used for low-visibility landings. The spectrum, which AT&T and Verizon would use, sits next to the frequency band, used by aircraft.
It was not immediately clear if a potential agreement would prevent flight disruptions. The FAA over the weekend cleared 45% of the country’s commercial fleet to fly after 5G is deployed.
In a letter to the White House and heads of the FAA, FCC and Transportation Department, airline CEOs on Monday said that modern aircraft use radio altimeters for a variety of safety systems and that those planes “will be deemed unusable” and could be grounded.
“In addition to the chaos caused domestically, this lack of usable widebody aircraft could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas,” said the letter, which was signed by CEOs of Delta, United, Southwest, American and the heads of the aviation arms of UPS and FedEx.

United said 15,000 flights a year could be affected and warned about delays at major hubs like Houston, Newark, New Jersey and Chicago.
“We implore the Biden administration to act quickly and apply the same common sense solutions here that have clearly worked so well around the world,” United said late Monday.
“It’s unclear if any agreement can be reached to modify the 5G rollout, so we must prepare for the worst,” JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes wrote to staff on Monday.
AT&T declined to comment. Verizon didn’t immediately comment.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More