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    Jim Cramer says he likes these 2 Covid-era winners that are making a comeback

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday offered investors a list of his favorite e-commerce stocks that have made a comeback since peaking during the height of the pandemic.
    Stocks that soared during the height of the pandemic as Americans worked from home, ramped up online shopping and looked for at-home entertainment cratered when the economy reopened.

    CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday offered investors a list of his favorite e-commerce stocks that have made a comeback since peaking during the height of the pandemic.
    “Most of the Covid stocks are still in the doghouse — where they belong,” he said, adding, “But some of them have started making real comebacks and I think they’ve got more room to run.”

    related investing news

    Stocks that soared during the height of the pandemic as Americans worked from home, ramped up online shopping and looked for at-home entertainment cratered when the economy reopened.
    However, some names have been able to make a comeback in recent months, even though they aren’t close to their highs from the past two years, Cramer said.
    Here are two e-commerce Covid comeback plays he’s eyeing.

    Pinterest

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    Praising CEO Bill Ready’s management of Pinterest and its deal with Elliott Management, an activist fund, Cramer recommended that investors buy shares of the stock “right here, right now.”

    “I think Pinterest’s shift from advertising to e-commerce could be a big story next year,” he said.

    Etsy

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    Cramer said that Etsy’s consistent profitability and solid past two quarters has helped the stock rally in recent weeks. Sellers who joined the site during the height of the pandemic have also largely stayed on the site, putting Wall Street’s concerns about the company’s ability to thrive in a reopened economy to rest, he added.

    “Next year, the company will have put the trough Covid-era comparisons behind it, which should give Etsy much stronger growth year-over-year,” he said.

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    Jim Cramer says the economy is stabilizing and can avoid a recession

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that the economy isn’t necessarily headed straight for a recession, despite what Wall Street bears might believe.
    ““It doesn’t have to be a recession. The economy just needs to stabilize at a lower level, which I think is already starting to happen,” he said.

    CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that the economy could be on pace for a soft landing, despite what Wall Street bears might believe.
    “It doesn’t have to be a recession. The economy just needs to stabilize at a lower level, which I think is already starting to happen. This is the winning hand that nobody playing the recession parlor game seems willing to acknowledge, even as I bet it’s become the most likely outcome,” he said.

    Stocks rose on Thursday, snapping the S&P 500’s longest losing streak since October. Fears about the possibility of a recession have rocked the market, putting stocks on pace to end the week in negative territory.
    Cramer argued that Wall Street has needlessly scared itself into believing a recession is coming due to bearish economic commentary from bank executives, misconceptions about food prices that have actually come down and a labor shortage that is steadily resolving.
    “Basically, the [Federal Reserve] doesn’t have to bring the pain if we inflict the pain on ourselves, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
    He added that there are other indications that the economy is cooling down, including the chip glut facing tech companies due to waning PC demand. U.S. consumers also are spending less in general, leading retailers to deal with inventory gluts of their own and selling their products to off-price retailers.
    “You can say these are all one-off. Go ahead, go dismiss me as anecdotal, not empirical. But to me, the writing’s already on the wall,” Cramer said.

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    Lululemon shares fall after company offers weak holiday quarter guidance

    Lululemon’s third quarter profit and sales topped Wall Street’s expectations.
    However, the company offered softer-than-expected guidance for the holiday quarter.
    CEO Calvin McDonald acknowledged a “challenging” environment for sales.

    People line up to enter a store during Black Friday shopping at Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont of Greater Chicago Area, Illinois, the United States, on Nov. 26, 2021.
    Joel Lerner | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

    Lululemon on Thursday reported sales and profit that topped estimates, but the company offered softer guidance than expected for the fourth quarter.
    Shares of the company fell more than 7% after hours.

    Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

    Earnings per share: $2, adjusted, vs. $1.97 expected
    Revenue: $1.86 billion vs. $1.81 billion expected

    The athletic apparel retailer is a popular mall destination that’s known for its trendy — and pricey — workout apparel and loungewear. Even as inflation hits Americans’ wallets and people dress up again, investors have bet that the brand can keep drawing shoppers and getting them to spend.
    Lululemon’s third-quarter net income rose to $255.5 million, or $2 per share, from $187.8 million, or $1.44 per share a year ago. Revenue rose 28% to $1.86 billion.
    Its total comparable sales increased by 22%. The closely watched metric, also called same-store sales, includes sales from stores that have been open continuously for at least 12 months, without temporary closures or renovations. Analysts expected a 19% increase, according to Street Account.
    CEO Calvin McDonald said on an earnings call that the company had a strong start to the holiday season. He said Black Friday was the biggest day in its history for sales and store traffic. But he added, “We also recognize that the external environment remains challenging with several high-volume weeks still in front of us.”

    The company’s guidance for the fourth quarter came in weaker than hoped. Lululemon said Thursday it expects fourth quarter per-share earnings of $4.20 to $4.30, compared to estimates of $4.30. It also sees revenue of between $2.605 billion to $2.655 billion, versus a projected $2.649 billion.
    For the full year, the company said it sees revenue of $7.944 billion to $7.994 billion, up from its previous forecast of between $7.865 billion and $7.940 billion. It also raised its adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $9.87 to $9.97, from last quarter’s guidance of $9.75 to $9.90.
    Shares of the company are down more than 4% so far this year. The stock has outperformed the S&P 500 Index, which is down about 17% during the same period. It closed Thursday at $374.51, bringing the market cap to $47.75 billion.

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    Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried hit with campaign finance complaint over GOP ‘dark’ money

    An ethics watchdog group asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for alleged “serious violations” of election law.
    The complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, cites Bankman-Fried’s admitted contributions of “dark” money to Republican election efforts during the 2022 primary season.
    The complaint comes nearly a month after the cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection.
    The complaint notes that Bankman-Fried was, “until recently, a crypto-currency billionaire and known top Democratic contributor,” who “admitted during a recent public interview that he gave ‘dark’ money contributions to support Republicans in federal elections in the past cycle.”

    Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug 17, 2022.
    Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    “The case did not, however, permit organizations to act as pass-throughs for others’ contributions, or to make independent expenditures while keeping secret their own contributors,” CREW’s complaint adds.
    Asked for comment on the complaint, Bankman-Fried, in a statement emailed to CNBC, said,  “I will always support constructive, bipartisan lawmakers and candidates who support the causes I believe in — chief among them, prevention of the next pandemic.”

    An FEC spokeswoman said, “We cannot comment on pending or potential complaints before the agency.”
    Anyone can file a complaint with the FEC if they suspect a violation of federal election campaign laws. If the FEC determines a violation occurred, potential outcomes “can range from a letter reiterating compliance obligations to a conciliation agreement, which may include a monetary civil penalty,” according to the commission’s webpage.
    CREW’s complaint notes that Bankman-Fried was, “until recently, a crypto-currency billionaire and known top Democratic contributor,” who “admitted during a recent public interview that he gave ‘dark’ money contributions to support Republicans in federal elections in the past cycle.”
    In that interview, he suggested that those donations would make him one of the largest donors to Republicans in the United States.
    The complaint contains a link to the Nov. 16 interview Bankman-Fried gave to Tiffany Fong, who posted the discussion on her YouTube channel.
    “I donated to both parties. I donated about the same amount to both parties this year,” he said in that interview.
    “That was not generally known, because despite [the Supreme Court decision known as] Citizens United being literally the highest profile Supreme Court case of the decade and the thing everyone talks about when they talk about campaign finance, for some reason, in practice, no one could possibly fathom the idea that someone in practice actually gave dark,” he added.
    “All my Republican donations were dark,” Bankman-Fried went on to say, the complaint noted. “The reason was not the regulatory reason.”
    “It’s because reporters freak the f— out if you donate to a Republican because they’re all super liberal. And I didn’t want to have that fight,” he said. “So, I made all the Republican ones dark. But, whatever, [indiscernible] the second or third biggest Republican donor this year as well.”
    In the interview, Bankman-Fried said that those contributions were “all for the primary.”
    “I didn’t give anything to the general election because I don’t give a s— about the general election,” he said. “It’s all that matters. Like, it’s the primaries where the good candidates against bad candidates.”

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    The complaint contrast the public record of Bankman-Fried’s federal contributions, with what he said in that interview.
    The campaign finance tracking site OpenSecrets, which relies on public FEC filings, has reported that Bankman-Fried gave nearly $40 million in federal contributions in the 2022 election cycle, the vast majority of which went to “Democratic-aligned outside groups,” CREW’s complaint said.
    OpenSecrets has reported that FEC records show he contributed nearly $922,000 to Democratic candidates.
    In contrast, FEC disclosures show that Bankman-Fried gave just $240,200 to Republican-aligned outside groups, and $80,200 to GOP candidates in the same election cycle, according to OpenSecrets data cited by the complaint.
    CREW’s complaint notes that Bankman-Fried’s interview implies that the true amount he donated to GOP efforts was tens of millions of dollars more than what FEC disclosures show.
    “Taking him at his word, Mr. Bankman-Fried was therefore able to direct approximately $37 million, and potentially much more, to influence federal elections while evading federal laws that require disclosure of the true source of contributions,” the complaint said.
    In addition to Bankman-Fried, the complaint lists as respondents the unknown people or entities who allegedly participated in “Bankman-Fried’s scheme to hide reportable contributions to influence federal elections.”
    CREW noted that federal laws bar using intermediaries that are falsely identified as the source of campaign contributions in place of the actual source of the money.
    In a statement, CREW’s general counsel, Donald Sherman, said, “Bankman-Fried said the quiet part out loud.”
    “He admitted that he violated federal laws designed to ensure Americans have transparency into those funding elections and now needs to be held accountable,” Sherman said.
    CNBC on Tuesday reported that FTX’s then-director of engineering, Nishad Singh, donated more than $13 million to Democratic Party causes since the beginning of the 2020 presidential election cycle, $8 million of which went toward federal campaigns in the 2022 cycle.
    Singh, who left FTX when it collapsed, was the 34th largest donor to all federal campaigns during the most recent elections.
    OpenSecrets data shows that Ryan Salame, who had been co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, donated $23 million during the 2022 midterm cycle, all of which went to Republican-affiliated groups or candidates, CNBC’s article noted.

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    House panel slams NFL, Washington Commanders over misconduct probe

    The NFL and the Washington Commanders misled the public about a probe into years’ worth of alleged misconduct in the team’s workplace, according to the report.
    The House panel said the NFL and the Commanders impeded its investigation.
    Among those accused of sexual misconduct is team owner Daniel Snyder, who has been pursuing the possible sale of the team since last month.

    Washington owner Daniel Snyder on the sidelines before a game against the Chicago Bears at FedEx Field in 2019.
    Jonathan Newton | The Washington Post | Getty Images

    The NFL and the Washington Commanders misled the public about an investigation into decades-long misconduct in the team’s workplace, according to a report from the House Oversight and Reform Committee released Thursday after a yearlong probe.
    The panel also said the NFL and Commanders owner Daniel Snyder impeded its investigation into the matter. The lawmakers accused Snyder of giving “misleading testimony,” as well.

    Snyder, who is among those accused of sexual misconduct, has been pursuing the possible sale of the team since last month. Snyder has pushed back on allegations against him and the team.
    In a statement, attorneys for the Commanders said that Snyder sat for 11 hours of questioning as part of the investigation, and that the committee was “only interested in chasing headlines by pursuing one side of the story.” It said the report was a “predictable culmination of that one-sided approach.”
    A representative for the NFL said the league is reviewing the report, along with a House Minority staff report that was released earlier.
    The Commanders had hired lawyer Beth Wilkinson to investigate claims of sexual harassment within the team’s organization that were published by The Washington Post in 2020. The NFL told her to “complete a written report of its findings” surrounding the Commanders’ workplace culture.
    But then the league refused to release the written report, instead presenting their findings orally in order to “better preserve” witness anonymity and confidentiality.

    The panel invited Snyder to testify at a public hearing, but he refused to do so. Instead, he sat for a private deposition, according to the committee.
    “Over the course of the deposition, he claimed more than 100 times that he could not recall the answers to the Committee’s questions, including basic inquiries about his role as Team owner and multiple allegations of misconduct,” the report says. “Mr. Snyder also gave misleading testimony about his efforts to interfere with the Wilkinson Investigation.”
    The panel found that the NFL’s reasoning to protect confidentiality was misleading to the public since the league had previously cooperated in providing written reports for similarly sensitive investigations. In 2014, the NFL released a 144-page written report related to an investigation into the Miami Dolphins’ alleged culture of harassment and bullying. In that case, it protected anonymity by redacting witness names and omitting certain details.
    In a statement, attorneys representing more than 40 former employees of the Commanders said Congress was compelled to take action because “neither the team nor the NFL was willing to reveal the extent of what occurred or hold accountable those responsible, and instead tried to obstruct any efforts to do so.”
    The Commanders also face a lawsuit from D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine over an alleged secret deal with the NFL deal to deceive its fans.

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    Hasbro defends Magic: The Gathering strategy, says ‘there is no evidence’ cards are overprinted

    Hasbro has refuted criticism that it is overprinting card sets for Magic: The Gathering.
    The head of its Wizards of the Coast unit said the company prints to meet demand.
    The company said supply chain issues led to complaints about card releases being too close together is a result of supply chain issues tied to two releases in October.

    A Magic: The Gathering card is displayed on a mobile phone during a weekly tournament at the Uncommons hobby shop in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 27, 2019. Photographer: Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
    Mark Abramson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Hasbro is defending its strategy for its popular Magic: The Gathering game.
    In a talk hosted by UBS on Thursday, the toy company refuted criticism that it is printing too many card sets for the soon-to-be billion-dollar brand.

    The comments come nearly a month after Bank of America downgraded Hasbro to underperform from buy, saying the company was “killing its golden goose” and could see a 34% decline in share price due to its mishandling of the Wizards of the Coast unit that houses Magic.
    Jason Haas, who wrote the Bank of America report, said players are getting increasingly turned off by a slew of new releases that flooded the market and decreased the secondary market values of cards.
    At the talk Thursday, Cynthia Williams, president of the Wizards of the Coast unit, said Hasbro doesn’t have any indications of broad declines in interest in the game’s products.
    “There is no evidence that Magic is overprinted,” she said.
    Williams said the company typically spreads out its tentpole releases of Magic: The Gathering card sets in two-month intervals. But in October, she said supply chain issues resulted in two sets releasing at the same time.

    She said that the cadence of releases will return to normal in 2023, with major sets being released every two months and micro sets sprinkled in between.
    In the game, which can be played in person or online, players use cards to cast spells, use artifacts and summon creatures to defeat their opponents. Rare and powerful cards can gain value on secondary markets as players seek to bolster their decks for tournament play or personal collections.
    As for secondary market pricing concerns, Williams noted that Hasbro doesn’t derive money from card resales and that if prices for recently released products rise significantly, it means “we’re not adequately meeting customer demand and we are making millions of players unhappy at their lack of ability to acquire the cards they want to play.”

    She said Hasbro prints and reprints cards based on demand both during presales and once the product has been released.
    “Like any market for any other collectible products, some products and individual cards do become more collectible than others and values can change over time due to a multitude of external factors, many entirely unrelated to the number of cards,” she said.
    Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, who was present at the talk, also addressed concerns over potential price increases, as the toy industry braces for inflationary pressures.
    Cocks said the company took pricing action on about half of the Magic line — something Hasbro has not done in 10 years — predominantly because paper costs have risen significantly and demand for printing presses within the trading card market has grown.
    But Cocks said that he doesn’t think raising prices on Magic cards is the answer to expanding the business over the long term.
    “At the end of the day it’s about growing our player base,” he said.
    Hasbro’s most engaged Magic players are those who play both online and in-person at local game shops or with friends. Williams said the company is seeing most of its new players coming from the online community to local hobby stores to buy physical cards.
    She added that product expansions, such as cards based on popular franchises such as Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who, can help it tap into fan bases outside the realm of Magic.

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    Harry and Meghan hit out at ‘exploitation and bribery’ of UK media in new Netflix documentary

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hit out at what they called the “exploitation and bribery” of the British press in a new, hotly anticipated Netflix documentary released Thursday.
    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also condemned the “unconscious bias” around race within Buckingham Palace.
    The series reveals some new details about the couple’s first meeting in 2016, but it is notable as much for what it misses out as it contains.

    “Harry & Meghan” is one of a series of programs the pair is producing under a commercial deal with Netflix.
    Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hit out at what they called the “exploitation and bribery” of the British press in a new, hotly anticipated Netflix documentary released Thursday.
    In a series billed as exposing “the full truth” behind the couple’s life inside Britain’s royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also condemned the “unconscious bias” around race within Buckingham Palace, and the lack of support they received from other royals.

    In the opening episode, Harry describes the release of the documentary as an act of “duty and service.” It marks one of a series of programs the pair is producing under a commercial deal with Netflix.
    “I feel as though being part of this family, it is my duty to uncover this exploitation and bribery that happens within our media,” Harry says in the opening episode.
    The six-part mini-series, entitled “Harry & Meghan,” acts as a love letter to the pair’s high-profile relationship, revealing new details of their first introduction in 2016 via a mutual friend on Snapchat, to their ultimate decision to step down from the royal family in 2020.
    The first three episodes of the series were released Thursday, with the second batch to be released next week.

    It all comes down to control, it’s like, ‘This family is ours to exploit.’

    Prince Harry

    But within the episodes released so far, the series is notable as much for what it misses out as what it contains.

    There are few, if any, difficult questions and a distinct lack of critical voices throughout the documentary.
    Harry’s brother, William, the Prince of Wales, for instance, features only briefly in a montage of childhood photos, and there is little reference to wider high-profile feuds between the couple and other members of the royal family over recent years.
    There is also a distinct lack of input from other members of the royal family.
    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.
    Here’s what the series tells us:

    Collusion between palace and British press

    One of the key themes running throughout the series is a critique of the British press, which Harry describes as being in cahoots with Buckingham Palace to ensure constant media coverage.
    “There’s leaking but there’s also planting of stories,” he says, though doesn’t provide specific examples.
    In the third episode, the Duke of Sussex refers to a royal rota, through which different press outlets and broadcasters are given slots to cover members of the family, likening it to an extension of the palace’s PR team. Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the claims.

    Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior members of the Royal Family in 2020.
    Picture Alliance | Getty Images

    “If you’re part of the royal rota, you have priority over the story over everybody else,” Harry says. “All royal news goes through the filter of all newspapers within the royal rota, most of which, apart from the Telegraph, happen to be tabloids.”
    “It all comes down to control, it’s like, ‘This family is ours to exploit. Their trauma is our story and our story and our narrative to control’,” he added.
    The prince also refers to the BBC’s now infamous interview with his mother, the late Princess Diana. While acknowledging that the interview was secured by “deceitful” means, he says: “She spoke the truth of her experience.”

    More allegations of racism within the royal family

    The documentary also expands on a prior, explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple made allegations of racism within the royal family.
    Harry says that other members of his family failed to support the couple when Meghan, the first mixed-raced member of the modern royal family, faced racism in the media.
    However, the pair seem to moderate their accusations against the family, referring to such racial discrimination as “unconscious bias.”

    For so many people in the family … there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold.

    Prince Harry

    “As far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well,” he says.
    “So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like, ‘My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?'”
    “I said, ‘The difference here is the race element,'” Harry adds.
    Last week, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, was embroiled in a racial scandal after repeatedly asking charity boss Ngozi Fulani where she was “really from.”

    Pushback against conventional royal marriages

    Harry also appears to make a thinly veiled swipe at his father, King Charles III, and brother, William, in defense of his relationship with Meghan.
    In episode one, Harry, whose relationship with the American-born has come under immense scrutiny — not least for her divorcee status, a factor overlooked in the docuseries — points to what he calls the difference between “making decisions with head and heart.”

    Harry & Meghan, the hotly-anticipated new Netflix documentary from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has been released.
    Jacob King – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images

    “For so many people in the family — especially, obviously, the men — there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with,” Harry said.
    Charles famously married Diana at the behest of the royal family, despite having a long-running and well-documented relationship with his now wife, Camilla, queen consort. William’s wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, meanwhile, has been widely accepted in the media, despite being a non-royal herself.
    Likening himself to his mother, Diana, Harry added, “My mum certainly made most of her decisions, if not all of them, from the heart. And I am my mother’s son.”

    A barometer for Harry and Meghan’s popularity

    The release of the series has already come up against criticism for allegedly using footage and photos in misleading ways.
    Comments made by the pair about being hounded by the media, for instance, are accompanied by at least three images which have nothing to do with the couple, according to reports.
    Meantime, others have questioned the couple’s decision to shine further light on their relationship despite ostensibly stepping down from the royal family in order to preserve their privacy.
    But much will hinge on the wider public’s response to the series, as Harry and Meghan attempt to forge a new future — and income — outside of the monarchy.
    It is not clear how much the couple have been paid for the series, though the wider commercial deal between Netflix and Archewell Productions is thought to be worth millions of dollars.
    “In order to survive in the future, they need to maintain that popularity,” James Holt, executive director of the couple’s Archewell Foundation, says of the Royal Family in the series.
    To some extent, the same is true for Harry and Meghan.

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    FDA authorizes Covid omicron vaccines for children as young as 6 months old

    Children as young as 6 months old can now receive the updated Covid vaccines that target the omicron variant.
    The FDA’s decision to authorize the shots for the youngest kids comes as Covid infections and hospitalizations are increasing nationally.

    Oliver Harris, 9 months, cries after receiving a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, U.S., June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
    Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

    The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized updated Covid shots that target the omicron variant for children as young as 6 months old.
    The eligibility rules vary depending on whether children received Moderna’s or Pfizer’s original vaccines as their primary series.

    Here are the eligibility criteria:

    Children 6 months through 5 years old who received Moderna’s two-dose primary series are now eligible for an omicron booster two months after their second shot.

    Kids ages 6 months through 4 years old who have not yet received the third dose of Pfizer’s primary series will now receive the omicron shot as their third dose.

    But kids in the same age group who have already completed Pfizer’s three-dose primary series cannot get the omicron shot as a booster, or fourth dose, at this time.

    The FDA, in a statement, said it did not authorize omicron shots for those children who already received three doses of Pfizer’s vaccine because the agency is still waiting on supporting data for the booster dose. That data is expected in January and the FDA will review it as quickly as possible, the agency said.
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needs to sign off on the shots before pharmacies and physicians can start administering them.
    Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s vaccine division, told parents in a statement that the agency carefully reviewed the shots before authorizing them. Dr. Robert Califf, head of the FDA, said it’s important for people to stay up to date on their shots this winter because immunity against the virus wanes.
    “As this virus has changed, and immunity from previous COVID-19 vaccination wanes, the more people who keep up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, the more benefit there will be for individuals, families and public health by helping prevent severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths,” Califf said in a statement.

    The authorizations come as Covid infections and hospitalizations are increasing in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. health officials are strongly encouraging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated against Covid and the flu as respiratory viruses surge this season, putting strain on hospital emergency departments.
    The new shots target the omicron BA.5 subvariant and the original Covid strain. U.S. health officials expect the new shots to provide superior protection compared with the original vaccines, which only target the original Covid strain. But the available efficacy and immune response data for adults has been mixed.

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    Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

    Omicron BA.5 has been displaced by the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants, which taken together now make up a majority of infections in the U.S. The new shots likely won’t perform as well against the BQ subvariants compared with BA.5 because they are more immune evasive, though they are still expected to provide good protection against severe illness.
    The FDA authorized the shots based on adult immune response data for similar vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna that target the original omicron BA.1 variant. The safety data is also based on BA.1 clinical trial data as well as previous trials that evaluated the original vaccine as a booster.

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