Raphael Stevens

In this articleMRNAPFEEdith Arangoitia, 46, (who came as a companion to her elderly mother) is vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by Doctor Galen Harnden at La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Massachusetts on February 16, 2021.Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty ImagesWhite House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that Americans should continue to get two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, despite a recent U.S. study that showed the shots are highly effective after just one dose.A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published last week found a single dose of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine was 80% effective in preventing coronavirus infections among health-care personnel and other essential workers. Two doses are better than one, federal health officials said, adding that the vaccines’ effectiveness jumped to 90% two weeks after the second dose.While the 80% figure was great news, Fauci said Monday he is still concerned about the length of protection after a single dose, especially with the emergence of highly contagious variants that have shown the ability to evade the protection of the vaccines.”When you look at the level of protection after one dose, you can say it’s 80%, but it is somewhat of a tenuous 80%,” Fauci said during a White House news briefing on the pandemic. “When you leave it at one dose, the question is how long does it last?”Highly infectious Covid-19 variants that have shown some resistance to vaccines also pose a challenge, Fauci said. “You’re in a tenuous zone if you don’t have the full impact” of two doses, he said.Fauci’s comments come as some health experts and public health officials argue the U.S. should prioritize giving Americans just one dose of the vaccines before moving on to second doses, accelerating the pace of vaccinations across the nation.CNBC Health & ScienceRead CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:Fauci says two doses of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid vaccines are better than one to protect against variantsEngland to offer everyone 2 free rapid coronavirus tests each weekThe U.S. is now averaging 3.1 million vaccine shots per day as Michigan and other states see outbreaksUnlike Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which requires one dose, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines require two shots given three to four weeks apart. In the U.K., health officials decided to stretch the time between first and second doses to 12 weeks in an effort to speed up vaccinations.Fauci has repeatedly said over the past few months that the U.S. should stick to the two-dose regimen.Dr. Paul Offit, a voting member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee who reviewed both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use authorization, told CNBC last week that studies have shown immunity appears to be actually more “durable” after the second dose, meaning protection may last longer.The two-dose vaccine regimen also produces 10 times the amount of neutralizing antibodies, which play an important role in fighting the virus, from the first to second dose, Offit told CNBC.Secondly, and more importantly, scientists also detected so-called T cells after the second dose, another important part of the immune response that usually provides longer-lasting immunity, he said.Fauci said Monday he “respects” arguments for a one-dose strategy but added the U.S. currently has enough doses to provide first and second doses for Americans. “Although we always continue to keep an open mind, we consider the route we are on to be the best route,” he said. More

A Jos. A. Bank store location in San Francisco announces its permanent closure on Aug. 6.David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAlthough the pace of store closures has slowed from its 2019 peak, don’t expect the reprieve to last long, according to a new UBS report that suggests America still has far too much retail space per capita.At the end of last year, there were 115,000 shopping centers — a figure that includes strip centers, malls, outlet and other lifestyle centers — across the U.S., compared with 112,000 in 2010 and 90,000 in 2000, UBS found in an analysis using data from the International Council of Shopping Centers.That equates to about 59 square feet of shopping center space per U.S. household, which is slightly less than 62 square feet in 2010, UBS said. But it’s still well above the 55 square feet of space per household in 2000, and 49 square feet in 1990, analysts Michael Lasser and Jay Sole explained.UBS is estimating that about 80,000 retail stores, which is 9% of total stores, will shut across the country by 2026. That assumes e-commerce sales rise to represent 27% of total retail sales by then, up from 18% today.”An enduring legacy of the pandemic is that online penetration rose sharply,” Lasser said in a note to clients. “We expect that it will continue to increase, which will drive further rationalization of retail stores, especially as some of the unique support measures from the government subside.”Even though more Americans are increasingly ordering everything from milk and bread to desk chairs to sneakers on the internet, store openings are outpacing closures for the first time in years. Many businesses are seizing the moment to take advantage of cheaper rents and ample vacant space to pick from. The growth largely stems from retailers that sell in beauty, grocery and discount goods, including Ulta, Dollar General, TJX and Lidl, which are anticipating a strong post-pandemic rebound in visits to stores.U.S. retailers have announced 3,169 store closures and 3,535 store openings so far this year, according to data complied by Coresight Research. The firm tracked 9,832 closures in 2019 — the highest it’s seen since it started following this data. That figure fell to 8,741 in 2020.UBS said the retail industry has been supported recently by government stimulus and by consumers shifting their dollars to goods from services, with travel and other entertainment events on pause due to the pandemic. But it said those trends are going to be short-lived, leading to a predicted downturn in retail sales, which will result in an uptick in retail closures.UBS anticipates the most closures will be found among retailers that sell clothing and accessories in the years ahead. The firm is forecasting about 21,000 closures from this sector by 2026, with many of the shuttered stores located in enclosed shopping malls. Office-supplies and sporting-goods businesses are also forecast to be among the hardest hit.Closures are anticipated to be the most modest in home improvement, grocery and auto parts retailing, as these categories are less susceptible to harm with the rise of e-commerce, UBS said.— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report. More

Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Monday explained how he’s trying to keep his three young daughters safe from Covid-19 while still allowing them to visit friends before their age groups can get vaccinated.Gottlieb detailed his approach on “Squawk Box,” after co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the former FDA chief for his thoughts on indoor playdates for kids if their parents are fully vaccinated.”I’m reintroducing activities with my children, but I’m doing it, I hope, in a prudent way where I’m still keeping the social network somewhat defined. I’m being mindful about how many people they’re interacting with and who they’re interacting with,” said Gottlieb, who led the Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. He’s now on the board of Pfizer, which makes one of the three Covid vaccines approved for emergency use in the U.S.”For example, a lot of their playdates have been with kids who are in their class,” Gottlieb said. “Why? Because that’s their social pod. They’re already exposed to that social pod, and so we try to keep the interactions within that defined pod.”None of the vaccines being used in the U.S. has been authorized for young children yet.Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine and Moderna’s two-dose vaccine received limited clearance for people ages 18 and older. By contrast, the FDA allowed Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine to be given to people ages 16 and up.All three drugmakers are testing the vaccine in kids, although the clinical trials are at various stages and examine different age groups.Pfizer said Wednesday its vaccine was 100% effective in adolescents ages 12 to 15, and Gottlieb told CNBC then that he hopes it could be cleared for emergency use by the FDA for that cohort of children by the fall when school resumes.Experts say vaccinating children is necessary for the U.S. to achieve so-called herd immunity, which is the point where enough people in a population have antibodies to fight off the virus from vaccines or prior infections, and therefore sharply reduce its spread.”Kids are clearly less vulnerable to the infection, but less vulnerable does not mean that they’re not vulnerable, and we do see some kids getting sick from the coronavirus,” Gottlieb said.At the current moment, as more adults are getting vaccinated and feeling comfortable resuming activities they avoided earlier in the pandemic — such as traveling, dining indoors and seeing friends and family — some are wondering how they should view the risk to their children.”The parents being vaccinated reduces the risk that the children have the infection … because a lot of the infections that we see on contact tracing actually are kids who get infected from their parents, not kids who are getting infected in school,” Gottlieb said. “If you’re interacting with families where the adults have been vaccinated, it’s less likely that the kids are going to have the infection.”However, Gottlieb stressed that even Americans who have been vaccinated should continue to be mindful that the pandemic, which has been going on for more than a year, is not yet over. For example, he said, a person who received a Covid shot should still wear a mask around an at-risk individual who hasn’t been vaccinated.”People who are vaccinated can feel that they’re far less likely to get seriously ill,” he said. “They’re less likely to get the infection and less likely to transmit the infection. … But if you’re around vulnerable people, there’s still a possibility even if you’re vaccinated that you can be asymptomatic and shed the virus and transmit the virus to that vulnerable person.”— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, health-care tech company Aetion Inc. and biotech company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ and Royal Caribbean’s “Healthy Sail Panel.” More

An RS1 rocket booster undergoes acceptance testing.ABL SpaceRocket builder ABL Space signed a long-term agreement for multiple launches with Lockheed Martin, agreeing to provide the defense giant with as many as 58 rockets through the end of the decade.Lockheed Martin will buy up to 26 of ABL’s RS1 rockets through 2025, with an option for up to 32 additional launches through 2029, ABL announced on Monday.”Having this assured access to space will accelerate our ability to demonstrate the spacecraft and associated payload technologies we are developing to the meet the future mission needs for our customers,” Lockheed Martin Space executive vice president Rick Ambrose said in a press release.ABL’s RS1 rocket fits in the middle of the launch marketplace, between Rocket Lab’s small Electron and SpaceX’s large Falcon 9 vehicle. RS1 is nearly 90 feet tall and is designed to launch as much as 1,350 kg (nearly 1½ tons) of payload to low Earth orbit.Lockheed Martin’s venture arm is one of ABL’s early investors, with the company having raised about $220 million in private capital so far – the majority of which came in a round from T. Rowe Price and Fidelity Management last month at a $1.3 billion valuation.ABL declined to comment on the financial terms of the contract. Based on ABL’s $12 million price tag for an RS1 rocket, the deal with Lockheed Martin is estimated to be worth nearly $700 million over eight years, assuming the maximum number of launches.A fully-integrated RS1 second stage in test firing at Edwards Air Force Base in 2020.ABL SpaceNotably, as ABL’s rockets utilize a mobile ground system called GS0 that can pack into a few shipping containers, Lockheed Martin may use a variety of launch facilities around the world – including U.S. Space Force facilities at Vandenberg in California and Cape Canaveral in Florida.While the defense giant did not specify which missions it plans to launch with ABL’s rockets, Lockheed Martin previously announced in February that it had selected ABL to launch a mission from Scotland in 2022. Additionally, Lockheed Martin last month signed a strategic partnership with satellite start-up Omnispace, with the latter company planning to launch a constellation of satellites to build a 5G communications network in space.The large contract represents a coup for ABL in the medium-lift segment of the launch market, where the company is competing with Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, which reached orbit a few months ago.Other competitors in that arena include Relativity Space and Firefly Aerospace, which are aiming to launch for the first time later this year. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab is developing a medium-lift rocket called Neutron that it expects to launch by 2024.ABL continues to work toward its inaugural RS1 launch from Vandenberg.While ABL had previously hoped to be ready to launch as early as March, president Dan Piemont said that the company is now aiming “for flight readiness by June.” The rocket builder recently finished acceptance testing on the first RS1 fuel tank, but Piemont said ABL expects the required launch site regulatory approvals will delay its first launch attempt to the third quarter of this year. More

People need to pay attention to their total well-being, and if they don’t the consequences could be dire, according to wellness expert and best-selling author Deepak Chopra.Total well-being encompasses purpose — or career— social, physical, community and financial factors, he said. For example, community well-being can mean feeling safe and involved in your community, while social well-being can be the quality of the relationships you have with family and friend.”Unless we address these five buckets of well-being … we are heading for global disaster,” said Chopra, founder of both The Chopra Foundation and Chopra Global. He’s also a member of the CNBC Invest in You Financial Wellness Council.More from Invest in You:Covid piles more stress and financial strain on family caregiversHow to manage your money, boost your savings and start investingRamit Sethi: Ace your job interview with these 3 strategiesFinancial health is more than just where you stand with your money. If you are financially stressed, it will send your cortisol levels up and weaken your immune system.”You have inflammation going up, which makes you more susceptible to chronic and acute illness, even Covid-19,” he said.Yet the pandemic is also the cause of financial anxiety for so many. Millions of jobs have been lost, pay has been cut and some parents had to leave the workforce to care for children.If you are whole in your body, in your emotions, in your mind, and in your spirit, you can accomplish anything.Deepak ChopraWellness expert and authorMore than 4 in 5 Americans, or 84%, are feeling stress on their personal finances due to the crisis, an October survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education found.Another survey by Fidelity found that 79% of women, who typically suffer from more financial anxiety than men, feel weighed down by money and stress.While there may be real reasons are anxious over money, financial well-being is ultimately a state of mind, said Chopra, whose latest book is “Total Meditation.””It does not have to do with the amount of money you have, it has to do with how secure you feel with the money you have,” he explained.Here are Chopra’s five tips for financial wellness:Don’t spend money you have not earned to buy things that you don’t need, to impress people you don’t like.Put away 10% of your income every month. “I did that since 1970, when I was earning $202 a month.”Find an employer who takes care of their employees and offers benefits like retirement, disability and insurance. Work with friends and people you like; otherwise, you won’t be successful in your career.Don’t ignore your body, mind and emotions. “If you have a healthy body, if you have good relationships emotionally and if you are a rested mind, you will make wise financial decisions.”Make other people successful, which is the best way to be successful yourself. “I found in my career that if I could make other people make money, I would make money, as well.”Chopra says he strives every day to have a joyful, energetic body and compassionate heart, as well as a clear, reflective, alert and creative mind, and joy and lightness of being.”If you are whole in your body, in your emotions, in your mind and in your spirit, you can accomplish anything, including have a very successful career and make lots of money,” he said.SIGN UP: Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow. is hosting a free, Virtual 5k for Financial Wellness from April 12-19 to promote financial wellness. Throughout their race experience, users will receive saving, spending and investing tips as well as motivational quotes about financial well-being from wellness expert and CNBC Financial Wellness Advisory Council member Deepak Chopra. Sign up here: cnbc.com/virtual5kSIGN UP: Money 101 is an 8-week learning course to financial freedom, delivered weekly to your inbox.CHECK OUT: Here’s how Americans meant to use their first 2 stimulus checks — and how they actually used them via Grow with Acorns+CNBC.Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns. More

The daily coronavirus death toll in the U.S. is at its lowest level in months as the country continues to ramp up the pace of vaccine administration. At the same time, outbreaks in states like Michigan are stoking fears of another nationwide Covid-19 surge.U.S. Covid casesAbout 63,280 daily new coronavirus cases are being reported across the U.S., according to a seven-day average of data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. Case counts have been on the rise again recently following months of sharp declines from peak levels in January.That new case growth is showing signs of plateauing following a low number of new cases reported for April 4, but many states did not report data on Easter Sunday. It will likely take a couple of days for the holiday weekend case and death counts to be reported and collected, at which point the latest direction of the outbreak’s trend will become more clear.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsMichigan, where average daily new cases are up 39% compared to a week ago, is currently experiencing the most severe outbreak in the country on a per capita basis. The state’s seven-day average of nearly 6,500 new cases per day is approaching levels seen during the winter surge, when case counts there peaked at an average of about 8,300 per day.Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he attributes the most recent uptick in Michigan and other states like Minnesota and Massachusetts to multiple causes. The spread of virus variants, colder climates that make it harder to gather outside, schools being reopened, and increased mobility among residents are all contributing to the spread, Gottlieb said.He doesn’t expect these factors, however, to fuel a nationwide surge in new cases.”I don’t think it’s going to be the start of a true fourth wave,” Gottlieb said. “I think that this is going to be regionalized outbreaks, and hopefully we get beyond this as we vaccinate more.”U.S. Covid deathsThe daily Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. currently sits at 797, based on a weekly average of Hopkins data. While still elevated, that figure is at its lowest point since late October 2020.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsU.S. vaccine shots administeredThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a single-day record of 4.1 million vaccine doses administered on Saturday, and more than 3 million vaccine shots were reported given for each of the past four days.The seven-day average of shots given in the U.S. is now sitting just above 3 million doses per day.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsU.S. share of the population vaccinatedMore than 165 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S., according to CDC data.Nearly one third of the population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 18.5% of Americans are fully vaccinated.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsOf those 65 and older, 75% have received at least one dose and 55% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, health-care tech company Aetion Inc. and biotech company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ and Royal Caribbean’s “Healthy Sail Panel.” More

Two friends sit on the sea wall on a warm sunny Easter Sunday at Chalkwell beach on April 04, 2021 in Southend-on-Sea, England.John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — Everyone in England will be able to receive two Covid tests for free every week as the U.K. government doubles down on its efforts to reopen the economy.Results of the tests are given within about 30 minutes. People living in England will be able to order the tests online or collect them locally, the government announced Monday. The scheme, due to start Friday, comes as the country gears up to reopen stores and pubs in less than 10 days. Most have been closed since late 2020.”This is a very important step forward, another step that will help us, with the easing of those restrictions, to get life back to normal in this country,” British Health Secretary Edward Argar told Sky News on Monday.England has been in lockdown mode since late December, but for a week, people have been allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six. At least three more benchmark dates are coming before all legal limits on social contact are removed, hopefully by the end of June.However, the plan to fully reopen the economy will depend on the evolution of the pandemic, as well as on the country’s vaccination program.So far, more than 31 million people in the U.K. have received their first dose. Over 5 million people have now received their second vaccine.Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak at 5 p.m. U.K. time Monday and outline plans for international travel rules.At the moment, international travel is restricted until May 17. Reports suggest that once traveling abroad is allowed, quarantine rules will depend on a “traffic light system” – meaning that those traveling to countries on a “green” list will not be required to isolate upon their return to the U.K.However, pre- and post-arrival testing is likely to remain in place, even when coming from a destination seen as low risk.The prime minister is also expected to mention coronavirus passports — documents that will state whether a person has been vaccinated, has recently tested negative for the coronavirus or has natural immunity. More