Raphael Stevens

“Dear Evan Hansen” garnered $7.5 million during its opening weekend domestically.
Box office analysts had expected the film to generate $10 million in ticket sales over the weekend.

Ben Platt stars in “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Universal’s “Dear Evan Hansen” failed to lure in even the most ardent fans of the Broadway musical, hauling in an estimated $7.5 million during its domestic opening weekend.
Marred by negative reviews, the film fell short of expectations, which predicted the adaptation would take in $10 million in ticket sales over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s an unfortunate misfire for a film that simply didn’t connect with audiences outside the most dedicated fans of the stage play,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com. “Musicals are hit and miss on a commercial level when it comes to motion pictures, and this movie’s performance, in particular, may give us further insight into what kind of escapism moviegoers are and aren’t looking for in the immediate future as they come back to cinemas.”
With diminishing returns likely over the next few weeks, “Dear Evan Hansen” will struggle to recoup its $28 million production budget and additional marketing spend.
This will be a modest loss compared to Universal’s last musical film “Cats,” which opened to just $6.5 million in late 2019 and ultimately lost the studio a large chunk of its $100 million budget.
Warner Bros.’ “In The Heights” also had a difficult time attracting audiences when it debuted in June, garnering only $11.5 million over its opening weekend and just under $45 million for its total run despite rave reviews.
To be sure, the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway show was also released on HBO Max at the same time it was available in theaters, likely contributing to its lackluster box office.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “Dear Evan Hansen.”

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NerdWallet studied hotel rates worldwide from 2019 to 2021 and found it can pay to wait to book until two weeks before arrivals as compared to months before.
The average room rate in North America booked 15 days out was $203, while that for a unit booked four months out was $233, NerdWallet found, a 12.7% difference.
Guests at high-end hotels can save an average 21.6% by booking just 15 days out, while savings at mid-range and lower-end hotels were less, at 9.4% and 5.5%, respectively.

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images

When it comes to reserving hotel stays, Aesop and his fabled ants might have gotten it backwards — it can actually pay to wait till the last minute to book.
While conventional wisdom holds that travelers get better rates for accommodations, air and other vacation components by reserving early, research from NerdWallet found that 66% of the time they’d save more by waiting to book a hotel room until 15 days before arrival, compared to four months out.

The idea that booking early is better has actually always been more about choice, said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet.
“It’s less about ‘buy earlier for better deals’ and more about the opportunity cost of not booking early — you could severely limit your options by waiting,” she said. “Booking in advance means you have more choice to book the hotel that’s truly in your budget.”
More from Personal Finance:How travelers might benefit from hotel industry strugglesTravel app offers skittish hotel guests price freeze functionalityHotel rates rise as travel starts to resume
NerdWallet studied more than 2,500 hotel room rates in 2019, 2020 and the first half of 2021 at hotels worldwide across price point and brand, comparing prices for nights 15 days and four months out.
From 2019 to 2021, the average room rate in North America booked 15 days out was $203, while that for a unit booked four months out was $233, NerdWallet found, a 12.7% difference. Internationally, the respective rates and difference were a similar $201 and $232, a 13.5% gap.

“International trends are mostly in line with domestic trends,” said French, adding it’s “comforting knowing you’re not missing out on even better international deals.”
The average rate at all high-end hotels, meanwhile, was $302 when booked 15 days before travel, compared to $386 four months ahead — a 21.6% difference. The difference is even greater — 50%, NerdWallet found — when comparing rates for 15 days ahead with 11 months before.

However, “cheaper” is a relative term, French noted. As an example, she pointed to pre-pandemic nightly rates at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, which were $1,110 when booked 11 months out and $450 just 15 days before.
“Still, $450 is more than most people are going to pay for one night at a hotel,” French said. “So while you might get a ‘better’ rate at that hotel, it’s often going to still be more expensive than a mid-range option.”
Savings at medium- and low-range hotels were more meager, at 9.4% and 5.5%, respectively. French said NerdWallet found that “budget friendly” hotels, such as the $100-a-night Best Western Market Center in Dallas — which never deviated from that rate in the course of the study — are less likely to vary in price even up to the last minute.
“But what happens if you think it’s OK to procrastinate, and then all the budget hotels get sold out because a huge festival or conference was in town?” French said. “You might have no choice but to book the Ritz-Carlton, which often goes for over $1,000.
“That’s a $900 mistake for waiting until the last minute,” she said.

If you feel comfortable traveling now, grab deals while you can because I don’t expect they’ll stick around.

Sally French
travel expert at NerdWallet

Has the pandemic and ensuing downturn in travel helped keep rates down? French said prices fell about 33% year-over-year in 2020 but are now 30% cheaper than in 2019, meaning they’re on the rise.
“As more people get vaccinated and countries open up to tourists, I expect that trend to continue,” she noted. “If you feel comfortable traveling now, grab deals while you can because I don’t expect they’ll stick around.”
Travelers might want to consider booking direct with their hotel of choice, whether online or by phone. It’s less about price and more about flexibility, according to French. “Many hotels have super-generous cancellation policies these days, but it’s often only honored when the reservation was made with them,” she said. “It’s less of a guarantee that you’ll get a full refund when booked with a travel agent or a third-party site.”

In addition, most hotels will price-match cheaper rates for the same room and travel dates, according to French, or travelers with reservations at hotels with flexible cancellation policies can cancel more expensive reservations made earlier and rebook at cheaper rates. That said, booking at online sites is “certainly faster and more convenient,” she added.
Destinations with cheaper hotel rates include Bangkok and Tokyo abroad — where rates are still off 2019 prices by more than 50% — and, in the U.S., business centers like New York and Philadelphia, according to French.
Where to avoid?
“I’m seeing a lot of hotels — particularly in more remote, domestic destinations — that have actually gone up in price,” she said. “Two different luxury hotels in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch and the Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows, both averaged about 80% more in 2021 versus their 2019 rates.”  

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The biggest round of golf to be played this weekend will be at the Ryder Cup, but rounds played are up across the country since the pandemic began.
More than 24.8 million people played golf in the U.S. in 2020, up more than 2% year-over-year and the largest net increase in 17 years.
Golf equipment and apparel has seen massive growth, with golf brands like Callaway and Titleist notching record sales.
Golf is also moving beyond the typical 18-hole course, and more consumers are playing the sport at entertainment venues like TopGolf or on virtual simulators.

Buckets of golf balls at the driving range at the 2021 TOUR Championship on September 03, 2021 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

Golf surged in popularity in 2020 by nearly every metric, as people sought out the socially distanced outdoor activity amid the pandemic.
More than 24.8 million people played golf in the U.S. in 2020, up more than 2% year-over-year and the largest net increase in 17 years, according to the National Golf Foundation. The sport also saw the largest percentage increase in beginner golfers and youth golfers since 1997 — the year a then-21-year-old Tiger Woods won his first major championship at the Masters.

Now almost two years since the pandemic first hit the U.S., and even as other activities have opened back up, golf has continued to grow in 2021, providing long-standing golf brands like Callaway and Titleist a boost. It has also elevated companies looking to capitalize on the changing demographics and trends within the sport.

Golfers continue to flock to courses

For many in the golf industry, it was unclear if the growth seen in 2020 was a function of the pandemic or a new inflection point for the sport.
Through the end of July — the peak of golf season in the U.S. — the number of rounds played in 2021 was up 16.1% compared to 2020, according to data from the NGF. While the July-specific figures were down 3.1% compared to 2020, a month in which nearly all golf courses had been reopened following pandemic closures in certain states, the 2021 numbers are significantly higher than previous year averages.
While those increases are being mainly driven by older, already passionate golfers — the average number of rounds played by golfers grew to 20.2 in 2020, an all-time high since NGF started tracking that statistic in 1998 — younger golfers, and especially female players, saw significant upticks.
“New participants are increasingly younger; they’re hooked on the game and they want to get better,” David Maher, CEO of golf conglomerate Acushnet Holdings, said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call with analysts in August. “A lot of the energy is coming from avid dedicated players who are simply playing more and consistently; more juniors, more women, more younger [players], and more families.”

The number of female golfers grew 8% in 2020, the largest uptick in five years, according to NGF data. Forty-four percent of people who played a round of golf on a course in 2020 were under the age of 40, and nearly the same amount of people in their 30s played golf as those in their 60s, according to NGF data.

Golf equipment companies seeing growth in sales

That increase in new golfers has been a boon for Acushnet, which owns golf brands like Titleist and FootJoy.
Acushnet’s second-quarter net sales in the U.S. grew 117.1%, fueled by a 98.1% increase in Titleist golf ball sales and a 111% increase in Titleist golf club sales. Over the first half of its fiscal 2021, sales in the U.S. have been up 75.2%.
Callaway, which owns several golf equipment and apparel brands including its eponymous line of balls, clubs, and other equipment, has also seen growth.
Earlier this month, the company raised its financial outlook for its third quarter as well as for the entirety of 2021, citing overperformance of its brands as well as mitigation of some supply chain disruptions.
“More people are joining golf courses, [there are] more entrants into the game, more consumers and we think the long-term trends are going to be quite attractive,” Callaway CEO Chip Brewer said on CNBC in June. “The market is going to be larger coming out the pandemic than coming in.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods, which sells golf products in its stores as well as golf-specialty retailer Golf Galaxy, has pointed to the sport as one of its growth drivers in recent quarters.
“We’ve continued to see consistent growth in the golf business,” Dick’s Sporting Goods CFO Lee Belitsky said on the company’s 2022 second-quarter earnings call with analysts on August 25. “The golf business has remained very strong for us.”
While the company does not break out the performance of Golf Galaxy stores in its earnings report, CEO Lauren Hobart said that the “golf business has been tremendous at both Dick’s and Golf Galaxy.”
The company has “invested in talent and elevated the in-store service model to become trusted advisers for golf enthusiasts of all levels,” Hobart said, and it recently opened its first next-generation Golf Galaxy prototype store outside of Boston. At that location, the Golf Galaxy Performance Center, golfers can not only buy golf products, but take lessons, practice in hitting bays, and have custom club fittings.
In May, South Korean private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners acquired TaylorMade Golf for $1.7 billion, the largest acquisition in the golf goods industry to date. TaylorMade, which produces clubs, balls, and apparel, was sold to KPS Capital Partners by Adidas in 2017 for $425 million.
“The industry is currently experiencing high demand, increased participation with strong long-term opportunities around the world,” Jinhyeok Jeong, founder and CEO of Centroid Investment Partners, said in a press release at the time of the transaction. South Korea is the third-largest market for golf in the world behind the U.S. and Japan.
Overall, golf equipment sales have slowed in recent months, according to NPD data — sales across June, July and August 2021 are down 2% compared to 2020 after the first half of 2021 doubled what was seen in 2020. However, the June, July and August 2021 sales numbers are up 50% compared to those months in 2019.
NPD Group senior industry advisor Matt Powell said more consumers are expected to embrace healthier living post-pandemic, and that will include an increase in outdoor and sporting activities, which should benefit golf.
However, it is still unclear how the supply chain issues plaguing other industries will impact golf equipment, which could limit growth.
Executives from both Acushnet and Callaway cited the ongoing supply chain issues in Vietnam as potential road bumps ahead. Acushnet and Callaway both declined to comment for this article.
“There are inventory issues but when we look at most of the categories that we track we’ve seen business start to plateau,” Powell said. “But, [golf sales] are resetting at a new higher level and while we’re not getting massive growth, it’s a much bigger business than it was two years ago.”

Golf expanding beyond the course

The rise of interactive golf experiences that go beyond the typical 18-hole course has also helped golf grow, especially to new audiences.
The growing popularity of TopGolf, which now has 70 locations across six countries after launching in China earlier this month, has been one of the main drivers. While the actual golf experience mirrors what can be found at a driving round, TopGolf aims for a more social and gamified experience along with drinks and food.
Callaway, which previously owned 14% of TopGolf, merged with the company in March, paying $2.66 billion to acquire the remaining portion.
TopGolf reported that it had $1.1 billion in revenue in 2019 and that it had a 30% growth rate since 2017. Callaway said that TopGolf generated $325 million in revenue in the second quarter, while same venue sales were in the 90th percentiles compared to 2019 levels.
Virtual trainers, both used for entertainment purposes as well as high-level golf training, have grown as well.
Full Swing, which produces golf simulators for commercial, residential, and entertainment venues, was acquired by investment company Bruin Capital for a reported $160 million in July. While the simulators can be used for other sports as well, the golf functionality is used by PGA Tour pros like Woods and Jon Rahm, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the world and is starring for the European team in the Ryder Cup.
“In the early advent of the off-course gamification of golf, I think there was a misinterpretation of what the impact would be on the actual game of golf and participation,” said David Abrutyn, a partner at Bruin Capital. “It’s been proven that it’s an entry point for golf and the more people you get swinging a golf club or experiencing the sport at an entertainment venue, the greater ability it has to drive participation in the sport.”
In addition to the 24.8 million people who played a round of golf on a course in 2020, another 12.1 million participated in an “off-course golf activity,” which includes driving ranges, venues like TopGolf, or indoor simulators like the ones Full Swing produces.
The increasing blend of the traditional sport of golf with technology and other forms of entertainment is a good harbinger for the sport moving forward, Abrutyn said.
 Golf’s biggest events have had more viewers tune in this year. In April, the final round of The Masters averaged 9.45 million viewers on CBS, up 69% from 2020. In May, the last day of the PGA Championship averaged 6.58 million viewers, a 29% year-over-year increase. And in June, the final round of the U.S. Open averaged 5.7 million viewers on NBC, up 76% from 2020.
The sport is also seeing coverage expand in new ways. The PGA Tour is working with Netflix to create an episodic documentary series, which will likely be modeled on “Drive to Survive,” the popular Formula 1-focused series that has driven new fans to the motorsport. NBA star and passionate golfer Stephen Curry recently signed a deal with Comcast NBCUniversal to work on a host of projects, one element of which will include creating content around the Ryder Cup for NBC Sports’ Golf Channel.
“A lot of people have tried golf and realize it’s perhaps not as hard as they maybe thought, and that’s creating an entirely new generation of golf fans, especially in the younger demographics, that will now be fans and engaged in the sport,” he said. “That’s particularly exciting for anyone involved in the business of golf.”
Disclaimer: CNBC parent company NBCUniversal is the broadcast partner of the Ryder Cup. More

FA Playbook

As Democrats get closer to raising taxes, financial advisors and their well-off clients are taking steps now to avoid some of those steeper levies later.
“Our clients are concerned,” said Michael Nathanson, CEO and chair of The Colony Group. “This would be among the largest tax increases in history.”

izusek | E+ | Getty Images

To pay for a historic and sweeping expansion of the social safety net, President Joe Biden and Democrats are planning to slap wealthy Americans with higher taxes.
In response, financial advisors and their well-off clients are also scheming. Specifically, they’re looking at moves they can take now to avoid some of those steeper levies later.

Some of the changes to the tax code that could soon be on the horizon include: A new 3% surtax on those who earn more than $5 million; a raise to the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% from 37% for those with a household income of more than $450,000 and for individuals making over $400,000; and a lift to the capital gains rate, which applies to assets like stocks and real estate, to 25% from 20%.

More from FA Playbook:

Here’s a look at other stories impacting the financial advisor business.

Advisors say many clients are breathing a sigh of relief at the latest proposals. Biden had called for raising the capital gains rate to 39.6%.
Still, many are dreading a higher tax bill.
“Our clients are concerned,” said Michael Nathanson, CEO and chair of The Colony Group, a Boston-headquartered advisory firm that works with high-net worth individuals. “This would be among the largest tax increases in history.”
Here is some of the action those worries are prompting.

Bracing for higher taxes

Nathanson is recommending certain clients try to accelerate income this year before higher rates go into effect.
If an individual is selling a business, for example, they could try to complete the transaction by the end of the year, Nathanson said. Those who get large workplace bonuses may try to negotiate a way to receive the money before 2022.
Normally he’d also try to maximize future deductions to sidestep the new 3% levy for clients with an income of more than $5 million, but that won’t work in this case because the tax will be based on adjusted gross income rather than taxable income.
“Adjusted gross income is calculated before itemized deductions are factored in, so common deductions such as charitable contributions and mortgage interest would have no effect on the new surtax as proposed,” he said.

To avoid clients being hit at a higher marginal income tax rate next year, Mallon FitzPatrick, managing director and principal at Robertson Stephens in San Francisco, is advising them to consider gifting an income-producing asset like real estate to a family member who falls in a lower bracket.
“The gift giver reduces taxable income and the receiver pays a lower tax rate on the income from the asset,” said FitzPatrick, a certified financial planner who works with clients with a net worth of $10 million or more.
Another way to report a lower taxable income next year would be to delay some of your charitable giving — and the deductions they earn you — until 2022, FitzPatrick said.
“Charitable income tax deductions are more valuable in a higher income tax rate environment,” he added.

Getting ahead of a larger capital gains rate

Wealthier individuals are limited in how much they can prepare for what will likely be a higher capital gains rate in the future.
That’s because policy makers have proposed making the hike retroactive to Sept. 13 of this year.
Still, investors have options, experts say.

This would be among the largest tax increases in history.

Michael Nathanson
CEO and chair of The Colony Group

FitzPatrick said individuals can differ their capital losses until next year, which would offset their gains when the tax rate could be 25% instead of the current long-term rate of 20%. (If your gains are $10,000, but you lost $5,000, your net gain is only $5,000.)
“Next year, all my capital gains may be subject to a 25% cap gains rate,” FitzPatrick said. “So my losses, that I can net against my gains, are more valuable next year.”

Before the estate tax ensnares more people

Lawmakers are also proposing reducing the estate and lifetime gift exclusion to around $6 million from the current $11.7 million, meaning more people will be hit by the estate tax of up to 40%.
As a result, advisors say they’re telling clients considering lifetime wealth transfers do so before the end of 2021.
There are a number of ways this can be done, FitzPatrick said.

You can give the gift outright, which means you surrender control of the assets to the receiver. The other option is to use an irrevocable trust.
With some trusts, you also give up power over the assets — and therefore the estate tax liability — but you may still be able to set some controls on how the funds are distributed, FitzPatrick said. For example, perhaps you don’t want a child to be able to receive income from it until they reach age 25.
“This helps guard against rapid depletion of the trust,” FitzPatrick said. “After the death of the original beneficiary, their children become the beneficiaries and so on. [It] preserves wealth for future generations.” More

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky broke from the agency’s advisory panel and authorized vaccines for those in high-risk transmission environments.
Walensky adopted the panel’s other recommendations to distribute third shots to adults with underlying medical conditions and everyone 65 and older.
President Joe Biden said the CDC’s recommendation expanded boosters to approximately 60 million Americans, including educators, health-care personnel and supermarket employees.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insisted Friday she didn’t overrule a vaccine advisory committee by expanding the CDC’s approval of Pfizer’s Covid boosters to include a proposal rejected by the panel.
In an unusual move, Walensky broke from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which voted 9-6 on Thursday against authorizing vaccines for those in high-risk transmission environments.

Walensky adopted the panel’s other recommendations to distribute third shots to adults with underlying medical conditions and everyone 65 and older. She said the last vote, which clears extra doses for teachers, health-care workers and other essential employees, was a “scientific close call.”
“I want to be very clear that I did not overrule an advisory committee,” Walensky said at a White House Covid briefing Friday. “I listened to all of the proceedings of the FDA advisory committee and intently listened to this exceptional group of scientists that publicly and very transparently deliberated for hours over some of these very difficult questions and where the science was.”

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who has been selected to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020.
Susan Walsh | AP

Walensky’s directive aligns closely with the Food and Drug Administration’s ruling on boosters Wednesday. That agency similarly bucked advice from its panel of scientific advisors by authorizing the shots for a broader audience than endorsed by its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
“This was a scientific close call,” Walensky said, noting the lengthy two-day meeting and robust debate. “It was my call to make. If I had been in the room I would have voted yes.”
She sought to reassure public confidence by encouraging people to go back and listen to the committee’s deliberations. “We did it publicly, we did it transparently, and we did it with some of the best scientists in the country,” she added.

Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a voting member of the FDA’s advisory committee, opposed boosters for young people out of fear they could cause myocarditis. Offit called Walensky’s expansion of ACIP’s recommendation “a first,” adding that he thought Pfizer should have run more extensive booster trials before submitting its findings to the FDA and CDC.
“A healthy person less than 30, I would wait to see how this rolls out,” Offit told CNBC. “Wait for a few million doses to get out there.”
But with the U.S. experiencing a seven-day average of 2,011 deaths per day as of Thursday, up 6% from a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, other doctors support Walensky’s decision.
Adjusting the panel’s guidance was within Walensky’s purview, even if it broke from precedent, said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
“These committees are advisory,” Casadevall said. “At the end of the day, this is a matter of policy, and policy requires judgment.”
President Joe Biden, at a briefing Friday, said the CDC’s recommendation expanded boosters to approximately 60 million Americans, including educators, health-care personnel and supermarket employees.The broader booster criteria better protects frontline workers and accounts for disparities in vaccine administration affecting people of color, Walensky said.  

CNBC Health & Science

“I’m also aware of the disproportionate impact this pandemic has had on racial and ethnic minority communities,” Walensky said. “Many of our frontline workers, essential workers and those in congregate settings come from communities that have already been hardest hit.”
She said withholding access to boosters for those groups will only worsen the inequities in the pandemic that have caused Black and Hispanic Covid patients to die at higher rates than whites.
More than 55% of the U.S. is fully vaccinated, and more than 2.4 million Americans have received boosters since the agency authorized them for people with compromised immune systems on Aug. 13, according to the CDC.
Walensky said the agency would work to quickly assess the booster data from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson in the weeks ahead.
“We intend to have numerous advisory panels at the CDC to examine many upcoming decisions including Moderna, J&J, as well as pediatric vaccination,” Walensky said.

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Biden said unvaccinated people are hindering economic growth, costing jobs and putting unnecessary strain on the health-care system.
Nearly 2.4 million people have already gotten their third shot since Aug. 13 when the CDC cleared them for people with compromised immune systems.
U.S. health officials are still evaluating data on boosters from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

President Joe Biden on Friday blamed unvaccinated Americans for slowing down the U.S. economic recovery, accusing some elected officials of actively trying to undermine the administration’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Biden’s comments came hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved distributing Pfizer and BioNTech’s booster shots to roughly 60 million Americans.

“The vast majority of Americans are doing the right thing,” Biden said in addressing the nation, noting that three-fourths of those eligible have gotten at least one shot. He criticized the more than 70 million people who haven’t yet started the vaccination process. “And to make matters worse, there are elected officials actively working to undermine with false information the fight against Covid-19. This is totally unacceptable.”
Economists have lower expectations for the back half of the year following a string of disappointing economic reports. The U.S. economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, well short of expectations for a 720,000 gain from economists polled by Dow Jones. This week, the Federal Reserve forecast 2021 GDP to rise at a 5.9% annual pace, down from its previous forecast of 7% growth.

CNBC Health & Science

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized third doses of Pfizer’s vaccine early Friday for people 65 and older, long-term care facility residents and people ages 18 to 64 who have underlying medical conditions or work in environments with a high risk for virus spread.
Biden said the CDC’s endorsement enables 60 million Americans to receive booster shots, including teachers, health-care workers and supermarket employees.
“Like many people on the front lines, I worry about the risk of acquiring COVID at work while I also worry about the danger of unintentionally passing COVID on to my patients in clinical settings,” Dr. Barbara Taylor, assistant dean and professor of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in an email to CNBC.

“Ensuring that those with occupational risk for COVID have as much protection as possible helps make our clinical environments safer and helps make sure we have enough providers and staff to care for patients,” Taylor added.
Roughly 100 million people have received the first two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, according to the CDC.
Nearly 2.4 million people have already gotten their third shot since Aug. 13 when the CDC cleared them for people with compromised immune systems. U.S. health officials are still evaluating data on boosters from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
“Our doctors and scientists are working day and night analyzing the data from those two organizations on whether and when you need a booster shot, and we’ll provide updates for you as the process moves ahead,” Biden said.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Thursday that a decision on third doses from Moderna and J&J could arrive within weeks. He added that the NIH is currently conducting a trial to determine the effects of mixing primary vaccine doses from one manufacturer with boosters made by another.
But even though the CDC reports that 55% of the U.S. population has been fully immunized against Covid, Biden said the remaining unvaccinated people are hindering economic growth, costing jobs and putting unnecessary strain on the health-care system.
Biden issued sweeping new vaccine mandates on Sept. 9 affecting private businesses and federal employees. Government staff and contractors are required to immunize against Covid with no alternative for testing, while any company with over 100 personnel must implement vaccine mandates that include medical and religious exemptions.
The requirements will cover two-thirds of all workers nationwide, Biden said, noting that 92% of the country’s active-duty service members have been inoculated. He mandated the shots for the military on Aug. 9.
“I’m moving forward with vaccination requirements wherever I can,” Biden said.
— CNBC’s John Melloy contributed to this article.

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Delta says airlines should share their no-fly lists so disruptive passengers can’t fly on other carriers.
The FAA says unruly passenger incidents have dropped sharply since early this year but that the rate is still too high.
One key lawmaker says airports should ban to-go alcohol cups.

Airlines have banned hundreds of passengers for unruly behavior since the start of the pandemic. Delta Air Lines wants carriers to share those lists.
The Atlanta-based carrier has asked “other airlines to share their ‘no fly’ list to further protect airline employees across the industry — something we know is top of mind for you as well,” Kristen Manion Taylor, Delta’s senior vice president of in-flight service, wrote to flight attendants on Wednesday. “A list of banned customers doesn’t work as well if that customer can fly with another airline.”

Delta said it has 1,600 passengers on its list. It declined to comment further on a shared no-fly list of banned travelers.
Flight attendant and pilot labor unions have raised alarms about unruly passenger behavior that’s surged during the coronavirus pandemic. Reports have included incidents of shouting, verbal abuse of crews and, in rare cases, physical assault.

Passengers wearing protective masks wait to board a Delta Air Lines Inc. flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents some 50,000 cabin crew members across more than a dozen airlines, has previously called for a centralized database of banned airline passengers.
The Federal Aviation Administration has received 4,385 reports of unruly passengers this year, close to three-quarters of them related to travelers who refused to comply with a federal mask mandate on board.
The FAA earlier this year issued a zero tolerance policy for these incidents and said Thursday that the rate has dropped by 50% since then. It added, however, that the rate of six incidents per 10,000 flights “remains too high.”

Labor unions and airlines in June requested that the Justice Department prosecute passengers who become violent on flights.
“The top priority of A4A passenger carriers is the safety of all employees and passengers, and we are committed to working with the federal government and our industry partners to provide a safe journey for all travelers,” said Airlines for America, a lobbying group for large U.S. carriers including Delta, American, United and others.
Airlines’ banned passenger lists are separate from the federal no-fly list, which is managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Center.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines aren’t currently selling alcohol on board due to concerns about how drinking could fuel bad behavior.
Southwest’s incoming CEO, Bob Jordan, told CNBC on Thursday that he didn’t expect alcohol sales to return until the federal mask mandate for air travel is lifted, a step that is currently scheduled for Jan. 19.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-Ore.) chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, on Thursday said airport restaurants should help stop passengers from bringing alcohol on board with to-go cups.
“There is no reason that a passenger should be able to leave a restaurant with a ‘to-go’ cup of alcohol and board a plane with it,” he said in written testimony ahead of a committee hearing on air rage.

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