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In Netflix’s new documentary, Prince Harry described the terror of being shouted at by his brother, Prince William, during a summit to discuss his and wife Meghan’s royal roles.
The second installment of “Harry & Meghan,” released Thursday, sees Harry claim his father, King Charles, said things that “simply weren’t true” during the meeting.
Netflix said Tuesday that the series’ first installment had become the streamer’s biggest documentary debut yet.

IN Netflix’s “Harry & Meghan” documentary, Prince Harry recalls being screamed and shouted at by his brother, William, the Prince of Wales, during a family summit.
Chris Jackson | Chris Jackson Collection | Getty Images

Prince Harry has described the terror of being shouted at by his brother, Prince William, during a summit to discuss his and wife Meghan’s royal roles, in a new Netflix documentary.
In the second installment of Netflix’s “Harry & Meghan” documentary, released Thursday, Harry said his father, King Charles, said things that “simply weren’t true” while the late Queen Elizabeth stayed quiet, during a summit that ultimately led to the Sussexes’ departure from Britain’s royal family.

“It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren’t true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in,” Harry says in episode five.
Netflix on Thursday dropped three further episodes in the six-part series it bills as an “unprecedented and in-depth” documentary.
They follow the release last week of three initial episodes, in which Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, hit out at what they called the “exploitation and bribery” of the British press.

You have to understand that from the family’s perspective, and especially from hers, there are ways of doing things.

Prince Harry

The streaming platform on Tuesday said that the series had become its biggest documentary debut yet, attracting 81.55 million viewing hours globally within its first four days of release.
It also appeared in the streamer’s Top 10 TV list in 85 countries, and ranked number one in the U.K.

The initial installment acted as a love letter to the pair’s high-profile relationship, revealing new details of their first introduction in 2016, but it was notable as much for what it excluded as what it contained.
The second installment, however, has proved more explosive with seeming revelations about the events leading up to the couple’s ultimate decision to step down from the royal family in 2020.
A disclaimer at the beginning of episode one states that members of the royal family “declined to comment on the content within this series.” However, a senior royal source confirmed to NBC News that neither Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, nor any member of the royal family are aware of any such approach for comment on the content of the series.

‘There are ways of doing things’

Episode five recalls how, in January 2020, the late Queen called “an urgent meeting of senior royals at Sandringham to discuss a new role for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.
Known as the Sandringham summit, it included Harry, along with the then Queen, Charles and William.
“You have to understand that from the family’s perspective, and especially from hers, there are ways of doing things,” Harry says, referring to the Queen. “And her ultimate sort of mission, goal, or slash responsibility, is the institution.”

Netflix’s series about Prince Harry and Meghan has become the streaming giant’s biggest documentary debut yet.
Daniel Leal | Afp | Getty Images

Harry also noted in the episode that he had been thinking about relocating overseas for several years, and had written an email to his father telling him the couple would relinquish their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles if they could not make a move abroad work.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have not yet publicly responded to the series, nor did they immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the claims.

Being fed to the wolves

The rest of the series follows in a similar vein to the first installment, with the couple making claims about Meghan’s rejection by the royal family and the intrusion of the British press.
Meghan says she was told the royal establishment saw her as a “foreign organism.”
“It’s like this fish that’s swimming perfectly, and then one day this foreign organism comes in, and then the entire thing goes ‘what is that? What is it doing here? It doesn’t look like us, it doesn’t move like us, we don’t like it, get it off of us,” Meghan recalls her private secretary telling her in episode four.
“She just explained that, you know, they’ll soon see, that it’s stronger, faster, even better with this organism as part of it,” she continues.
Elsewhere, Meghan describes being “fed to the wolves” of the tabloid news media after failing to fit into the family.

I realized that I wasn’t just being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves.

Duchess of Sussex

The couple have long claimed that Meghan was mistreated by the British media, including due to her race — claims the media has rejected.
“I realized that I wasn’t just being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves,” she says.
“It was already clear to the media that the palace wasn’t gonna protect her. Once that happens the floodgates open,” Harry adds.
Episode four also includes additional commentary from Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who recalls her daughter wanting to take her own life due to the media backlash.
“I remember her telling me that she wanted to take her own life,” she says.
“I knew that it was bad, but to just constantly be picked at by these vultures — just picking away at her spirit — that she would actually think of not wanting to be here… that’s not an easy one for a mom to hear,” she adds.
“Harry & Meghan,” which was directed by Oscar-nominated Liz Garbus, marks one of a series of programs the Sussexes are producing under a commercial deal with Netflix as they forge new lives outside of the royal family.
Their production house, Archewell Productions, is due to release another Netflix series, “Heart of Invictus,” in 2023.

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Households can now order a total of four rapid Covid tests for free at CovidTests.gov.
Orders will start shipping next week, just days before families gather for the Christmas holiday.
The Biden administration shut down the free at-home Covid test program in September because Congress did not pass additional funding.
The White House said it decided to shift existing money to buy more tests and relaunch the popular program as Covid cases started increasing again.

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

The Biden administration is making rapid Covid tests available for free again this winter through a limited round of ordering.
Households can now order a total of four rapid Covid tests for free at CovidTests.gov. Orders will start shipping next week, just days before families gather for the Christmas holiday, and deliveries will continue in the following weeks, according to the White House.

The Biden administration shut down the free at-home Covid test program in September because Congress did not pass additional funding to replenish the U.S. stockpile.
The White House decided to shift existing money to buy more tests and relaunch the popular program as Covid cases started increasing again, a senior administration official told reporters during a call Wednesday evening.
“We feel confident that we are going to have enough tests to get through this next round, four per household, in the coming weeks,” the official said.
The relaunch of the free at-home test program is part of the Biden administration’s preparedness plan for Covid this winter. Covid infections are increasing again as hospital emergency departments are already battling a surge of patients sick with the flu and respiratory syncytial virus.
The Biden administration will make federal medical teams available to strained hospitals as requested by state governments, the official said. Supplies such as personal protective equipment and ventilators will be pre-prepositioned to be given out to states as needed, the official said.

The administration is also focusing on increasing vaccination rates in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which house some of the people most vulnerable to severe illness from Covid.
The federal government will send out a playbook that calls on nursing homes to keep all residents up to date on the vaccines, offer treatment to residents who do catch Covid and take steps to improve indoor air quality, according to a White House fact sheet.
Health Secretary Xavier Becerra will send a letter to governors, highlighting how vaccination rates in nursing homes in their states compare to others, according to the White House. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will also reach out to jurisdictions with the lowest vaccination rates in nursing homes to remind them of steps they can take to increase coverage.
The federal government is also calling on hospitals to offer Covid vaccination to patients who are unvaccinated before they are discharged.

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Although China’s reopening would boost growth prospects for the country and other economies, it would also cause an increase in Covid-19 cases, Albert Park, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank said. 
But that is the price the government would have to pay if it wants the country to open up and transition back to life without the zero-Covid policy, he said. 
“The sooner China can get there … the sooner they can get a real recovery in demand and actually boost growth prospects” for the country and other economies in the region, Park added. 

China’s reopening could bring opportunities as well as risks to its economy, Albert Park, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank told CNBC. 
Although the lifting of Covid restrictions in China would boost growth prospects for the country and other economies, it could also lead to an increase in Covid-19 cases, he said Wednesday. 

“The one area where there might be upside risk would be China’s reopening. And of course, there’s both downside and upside risks for the China case because as they reopen, we know cases are going to have to spread pretty quickly,” Park said.
There could be “waves in different parts of the country at different times,” Park said. “And there’ll be a strong temptation by the government to reimpose controls or step back. That could be very disruptive for economic activity.”

Recurring lockdowns in China is one of the three big headwinds that are slowing down the region’s recovery from the pandemic, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

But that is the price the government would have to pay if it wants the country to open up and transition back to life without the zero-Covid policy, he added. 
This week, ADB downgraded its 2022 growth forecast for China to 3% from its previous projection of 3.3%. It also predicted China’s economy would grow by 4.3% in 2023, downgrading its September growth estimates of 4.5%. 
The development bank has also trimmed its growth forecast for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.2% from September estimates of 4.3%, and cut its 2023 outlook for the region to 4.6% from 4.9%. 

Recurring lockdowns in China is one of the three big headwinds that are slowing down the region’s recovery from the pandemic, according to ADB. Monetary policy tightening by central banks around the world and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war are factors contributing to slower growth as well, the bank said. 
“The sooner China can get there … the sooner they can get a real recovery in demand and actually boost growth prospects” for itself and other economies in the region, Park added. 

Boost to Hong Kong’s reopening

China’s reopening will be good for Hong Kong as tourist arrivals will likely increase, said Allan Zeman, chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, a real estate owner and developer in Hong Kong’s clubbing district.
“China is the big kahuna and it’s really important that they are opening up … It’s time that they get back to work again,” Zeman told CNBC on Wednesday.
His comments came a day after Hong Kong further eased travel and mobility measures.
Restrictions on Hong Kong travelers visiting bars or dining in at restaurants have been scrapped, and people in the city are no longer required to use the Covid contact tracing app, LeaveHomeSafe. 

However, they can’t completely abandon the app just yet as certain establishments may still require them to show proof of vaccination. 
It’s been surprising how quickly businesses in Hong Kong have bounced back, and those that left Hong Kong due to its stringent measures in the past are ready to return as well, claimed Zeman.
“They’ve been so pleased with the result of yesterday and many are planning their trips back,” he said, referring to people who do business in Hong Kong.
With regard to tourism, China’s reopening will accelerate Hong Kong’s recovery to “bring us back to the old days again,” according to Zeman.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

“No tourists were coming so that tourist dollar was really, really lacking. But I think going forward now, with tourists I’m expecting a big bounce and tourism coming back again.” 
Residents in Hong Kong have also taken advantage of easing measures to travel abroad. 
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific reported on Tuesday that it carried almost 530,000 passengers in November. This was a 652.1% increase compared with the same time last year, but a 79.9% drop from pre-pandemic levels in November 2019. 
“We continued to add more flights to more destinations last month, in particular to and from popular places in Japan as well as Southeast Asia, which saw huge demand from Hong Kong,” Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in a statement.
Although Hong Kong and China’s recovery looks to be on the horizon, Zeman warned that opening up could be “one step forward, then three back, then two steps forward again.” 

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It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Inc: “I think the numbers may be too high in Cliffs. The numbers may be too low in Nucor.”
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Danaher.

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The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, which sends small business loans to the double-digits percentage range for the first time in decades.
Small business loans are based on the Prime Rate, which will now be 7.5%, the highest since 2007 and pushing most SBA loans to a 10.5% interest rate.
Monthly interest payments already are much higher than a year ago, but the 10% level is a psychological barrier and form of sticker shock many business owners have never experienced.

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference after Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point in Washington, September 21, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

With the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike adding half a percentage point to the cost of debt capital and reaching its highest level in 15 years, the majority of small business loans will hit the double-digit interest level for the first time since 2007.
The cost of taking out loans, and making monthly interest payments on business debt already has been rising swiftly after successive mega 75 percentage point rate hikes from the Fed, but the 10% level is a psychological threshold that small business loan experts say will weigh on many entrepreneurs who have never experienced a loan market this elevated.

Small Business Administration lenders are limited to a 3% maximum spread over the Prime Rate. With Wednesday’s rate hike raising Prime to 7.5%, the most common SBA loans will now surpass the 10% interest level. It’s the highest level for the Prime Rate since September 2007.
To veteran small business lenders, it’s not a new experience.
“Prime was 8.25% in May 1998 when I started in the SBA lending industry, 24 years ago,” said Chris Hurn, founder and CEO of small business lender Fountainhead. 
Loans he made at that time were at the very common Prime+2.75% (then the maximum over Prime that any lender could charge on an SBA loan), or 11%. But that was the norm rather than a sea change in rates in a short period of time.
“In less than a year, we will have gone from the 5-6% range to a doubling and it will have a tremendous psychological effect,” Hurn said.

The monthly interest payment owners will be making isn’t very different from what’s already become one of the primary costs of Fed rate hikes on Main Street. Servicing debt at a time of input inflation and labor inflation is forcing business owners to make much tougher decisions and sacrifice margin. But there will be an added psychological effect among potential new applicants. “I think it’s started already,” Hurn said. “Business owners will be very careful taking out new debt next year,” he added.
“Every 50 basis points costs more and there’s no denying it, psychologically, it is a big deal. Many business owners have never seen double-digits,” said Rohit Arora, co-founder and CEO of small business lending platform Biz2Credit. “Psychology matters as much as facts and it could be a tipping point. A few people over the past few weeks have said to me, ‘Wow, it will be double digits.'”
A monthly NFIB survey of business owners released earlier this week found that the percentage of entrepreneurs who reported financing as their top business problem reached its highest reading since December 2018 — the last time the Fed was raising rates. Almost a quarter of small business owners said they are paying a higher rate on their most recent loan, and the highest since 2008. A majority (62%) of owners told NFIB they are not interested in applying for a loan.
“The pain is already in, and there will be more,” Arora said.
That’s because beyond the psychological threshold of the 10% interest level being breached, the expectation is that the Fed will keep rates elevated for an extended period of time. Even in slowing rate hikes and potentially stopping rate hikes as soon as early next year, there is no indication the Fed will move to cut rates, even if the economy enters a recession. The latest CNBC Fed Survey shows the market forecasting a peak Fed rate around 5% in March 2023 and the rate being held there for nine months. Survey respondents said a recession, which 61% of them expect next year, would not alter that “higher for longer” view.
The latest Fed projection for the terminal rate released on Wednesday rose to 5.1%.
This problem will be exacerbated by the fact that as the economy slows the need to borrow will increase for business owners facing declining sales, and unlikely to see additional support from the Fed or federal government.
Getting inflation down from 9% to 7% was likely to be the quicker change than getting inflation from 7% to 4% or 3%, Arora said. “It will take a lot of time and create more pain for everyone,” he said. And if rates don’t come down until late 2023 or 2024, that means “a full year of high payments and low growth, and even if inflation is coming down, not coming down at a pace to offset other costs,” he added.
As economist and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently noted, the economy may be moving into the first recession in the past four decades to feature higher interest rates and inflation.
“We are in for a long haul problem,” Arora said. “This recession won’t be as deep as 2008 but we also won’t see a V-shaped recovery. Coming out will be slow. The problem isn’t the rate increase anymore, the biggest challenge will be staying at these levels for quite some time.”
Margins already have been hit as a result of the rising costs of monthly payments, and that means more business owners will cut back on investments back into the business and expansion plans.
“Talking to small business owners looking for financing, it’s starting to slow things down,” Hurn said.
There is now more focus on cutting costs amid changing expectations for revenue and profit growth.
“It’s having the effect the Fed wants but at the expense of the economy and expenses of these smaller companies that are not as well capitalized,” he said. “This is how we have to tame inflation and if it hasn’t already been painful, it will be more painful.” 
Margins have been hit as a result of the costs of monthly payments — even at a low interest rate, the yearlong SBA EIDL loan repayment waiver period has now ended for the majority of business owners eligible for that debt during the pandemic, adding to the monthly business debt costs — and investments back into business are slowing down, while expansion plans are being put on hold.
Economic uncertainty will result in more business owners borrowing only for immediate working capital needs. Ultimately, even core capital expenditures will get hit — if they have not been already — from equipment to marketing and hiring. “Everyone is expecting 2023 will be a painful year,” Arora said.
Even in bad economic times, there is always a need for debt capital, but it will curtail the interest in growth-oriented capital, whether it’s a new marketing plan, the new piece of equipment making things more efficient or designed to increase scale, or buying the company down the street. “There will continue to be demand for regular business loans,” Hurn said.  
While debt coverage ratios — the cash flow level needed to make monthly interest payments — are flashing warning signs, the credit profile of business owners hasn’t weakened across the board, but banks will continue to tighten lending standards into next year. Small business loan approval percentages at big banks dropped in November to the second lowest total in 2022 (14.6%), according to the latest Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index released this week; and also dropped at small banks (21.1%).
One factor yet to fully play out in the commercial lending market is the slowdown already in the economy but not yet in the interim financial statements that bank lenders use to review loan applications. Business conditions were stronger in the first half of the year and as full year financial statements and tax returns from businesses reflect second half economic deterioration, and likely no year-over-year growth for many businesses, lenders will be denying more loans.
This implies demand for SBA loans will remain strong relative to traditional bank loans. But by the time the Fed stops raising rates, business loans could be at 11.5% or 12%, based on current expectations for Q2 2023. “When I made my first SBA loan it was 12% and Prime was 9.75%, but not everyone has the history I have,” Hurn said. More

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday recommended a slate of consumer staple stocks for 2023.
“I’m not entirely convinced that we’re headed for a recession next year, but we’re definitely looking [at] a meaningful slowdown, and that’s terrific for the consumer staples,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday recommended a slate of consumer staple stocks for 2023.
“I’m not entirely convinced that we’re headed for a recession next year, but we’re definitely looking [at] a meaningful slowdown, and that’s terrific for the consumer staples,” he said.

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The Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points Wednesday, breaking its streak of four consecutive 75-basis-point increases, and forecast hiking rates through next year. Chair Jerome Powell also signaled that the central bank needs to parse through more data to be convinced that inflation is lowering substantially.
With the central bank looking unlikely to pivot anytime soon, fears are mounting on Wall Street that a recession could be in the cards for next year. Such economic conditions could fare well for consumer staples companies, which tend to perform well regardless of economic turbulence since consumers tend to buy necessities such as food and household products no matter what.
Consumer staple companies will “be able to keep putting up solid earnings growth even as most other industries will experience down numbers,” Cramer said.
Here are his picks:
Archer-Daniels-Midland

Cramer said that the food processing company, whose stock is the best performer in consumer staples so far this year, is a winner as long as the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland are up over 37% year to date.

Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup is the third-best-performing consumer goods stock this year, and with good reason, according to Cramer. He praised the company’s strong set of brands, pricing power and earnings and revenue beat in the company’s most recent quarter. Cramer added that he expects the company to see sizable earnings growth in 2023 as its raw costs continue to fall. Shares of Campbell Soup are up over 31% year to date.

Estee Lauder

The prestige beauty company stock will likely roar higher with China poised to reopen its economy, Cramer predicted.

Constellation Brands

The alcoholic beverages firm is poised to do well in a recession since alcohol sales tend to remain steady during periods of economic turbulence, he said.

Walgreens Boots Alliance

Cramer said he believes the company is a “turnaround story” thanks to CEO Rosalind Brewer’s strategy to make the company more care-focused, adding that he’s optimistic about her plans for Walgreens.

Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Estee Lauder and Constellation Brands.

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday said that investors exiting the market after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish speech are acting too rashly.
Stocks fell Wednesday after the Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points and forecasted hiking rates through next year

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday said that investors exiting the market after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish speech on Wednesday are acting too rashly.
“I have no doubt there will be more people bolting from stocks tomorrow morning, believing they’ve been given a tremendous opportunity to get out well ahead of when things accelerate to the downside. I think they’re being too frantic,” he said.

Stocks fell Wednesday after the Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points and forecasted hiking rates through next year. Powell also signaled at the conclusion of the central bank’s December meeting that more data is needed to support that inflation has subsided substantially.
“Let Powell play for time. We’ll get lower numbers — not necessarily a real slowdown, but lower numbers,” Cramer said.
He also reiterated his stance that more areas of the economy need to cool before policymakers can declare victory against inflation, despite the Labor Department reporting on Tuesday that prices rose less than expected in November.
But that doesn’t mean the Fed is losing its fight, he reminded investors.
“If Powell felt that things weren’t going his way … what he would’ve done is hit us with another 75 basis point rate hike, not a 50. He didn’t do that because he knows we’re making progress,” he said.

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Scientists, in a study published online in the journal Cell, found that the BQ and XBB subvariants are “barely susceptible to neutralization” by the vaccines, including the new omicron boosters.
This could result in a surge of breakthrough infections and reinfections, though the vaccines have been shown to hold up against severe disease, they wrote.
Key antibody drugs, Evusheld and bebtelovimab, were “completely inactive” against the new subvariants, according to the study.

Evusheld injection, a new COVID treatment that people can take before becoming symptomatic, in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.
Chris Sweda | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

The omicron subvariants that have become dominant in recent months present a serious threat to the effectiveness of the new boosters, render antibody treatments ineffective and could cause a surge of breakthrough infections, according to a new study.
The BQ.1, BQ.1.1, XBB and XBB.1 omicron subvariants are the most immune evasive variants of Covid-19 to date, according to scientists affiliated with Columbia University and the University of Michigan. These variants, taken together, are currently causing 72% of new infections in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The scientists, in a study published online Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, found that these subvariants are “barely susceptible to neutralization” by the vaccines, including the new omicron boosters. The immune response of people who were vaccinated and had breakthrough infections with prior omicron variants also was weaker against the subvariants.
“Together, our findings indicate that BQ and XBB subvariants present serious threats to current COVID-19 vaccines, render inactive all authorized antibodies, and may have gained dominance in the population because of their advantage in evading antibodies,” the scientists wrote.

Although these subvariants are more likely to cause breakthrough infections, the vaccines have been shown to remain effective at preventing hospitalization and severe disease from omicron, the scientists wrote.
The study examined blood samples from people who received three or four shots of the original vaccines, those who received the new omicron boosters after three shots of the original vaccines, and individuals vaccinated with the original shots who also had breakthrough infections from the BA.2 or BA.5 subvariants.
For people who received the omicron boosters, antibodies that block infection were 24 times lower against BQ.1, 41 times lower against BQ.1.1, 66 times lower against XBB and 85 times lower against XBB.1 compared to their performance against the ancestral strain that emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019.

However, people who received the omicron boosters had modestly higher antibody levels against all of these subvariants compared with people who received three or four shots of the original vaccines, according to the study.
People who were vaccinated and had breakthrough infections had the highest antibody levels of any group in the study, though neutralization was also much lower against the subvariants than the ancestral strain.
The subvariants have evolved away from previous versions of omicron in dramatic fashion. BQ.1.1, for example, is about as different from omicron BA.5 as the latter subvariant is from ancestral Covid strain, according to the study.
“Therefore, it is alarming that these newly emerged subvariants could further compromise the efficacy of current COVID-19 vaccines and result in a surge of breakthrough infections, as well as re-infections,” the scientists wrote.
XBB.1, however, presents the biggest challenge. It is about 49 times more resistant to antibody neutralization than the BA.5 subvariant, according to the study. XBB.1, fortunately, is currently causing no more than 1% of infections in the U.S., according to CDC data.
BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 represent 37% and 31% of new infections respectively, while XBB is causing 4.7% of new infections, according to CDC data.

Antibodies ineffective

Key antibody drugs, Evusheld and bebtelovimab, were “completely inactive” against the new subvariants, according to the study. These antibodies are used primarily by people with weak immune systems.
Evusheld is an antibody cocktail used to prevent Covid in people with weak immune systems who don’t respond strongly to the vaccines. Bebtelovimab is used to prevent Covid from progressing to severe disease in organ transplant patients and other individuals who cannot take other treatments.
“This poses a serious problem for millions of immunocompromised individuals who do not respond robustly to COVID-19 vaccines,” the scientists wrote. “The urgent need to develop active monoclonal antibodies for clinical use is obvious.”
The Food and Drug Administration has already pulled its authorization of bebtelovimab nationwide because it is no longer effective against the dominant omicron variants in the U.S. Evusheld remains authorized as the only option for pre-exposure prophylaxis.
New Covid infections increased by about 50% to 459,000 for the week ended Dec. 7, according to CDC data. Covid deaths increased 61% to nearly 3,000 during the same week. Hospital admissions have plateaued at 4,700 per day on average after rising in November, according to the data.
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a press briefing last month, said U.S. health officials are hoping there’s enough immunity in the population from vaccination, infection or both to prevent the massive surge of infections and hospitalizations the U.S. suffered last winter when omicron first arrived.

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