Category: Breaking News

LONDON (Reuters) -COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna that use mRNA technology provide the biggest boost to antibody levels when given 10-12 weeks after the second dose, a new British study has found. The “COV-Boost” study was cited by British officials when they announced that Pfizer and Moderna were preferred for use in the country’s booster campaign, but the data has only been made publicly available now. The study found that six of the seven boosters examined enhanced immunity after initial vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, while all seven increased immunity when given after two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Continue reading “UK study finds mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provide biggest booster impact”

WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his strategy to fight the coronavirus as the highly contagious Omicron spread across the globe with winter coming and hours after the first known U.S. case of community transmission of the variant was reported. With authorities around the world scrambling to contain Omicron, Biden warned in no uncertain terms that infections will rise this winter. “We’re going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion,” he said, speaking at the National Institutes of Health medical research facility in Maryland. New York has found five cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, its governor said, becoming the fourth U.S. state to detect the variant and bringing the total number of infections in the country to eight. New York Governor Kathy Hochul told a news conference that one of the cases involved a 67-year-old Long Island woman with mild symptoms who had recently returned from South Africa. The woman had some vaccination history but it was not yet known how many doses she had received. Further information was not yet available on the other four people, all New York City residents, Hochul said. The other U.S. states that have found Omicron cases are California, Colorado and Minnesota, one in each state. In all three cases, the patients were fully vaccinated and developed mild symptoms. In California and Colorado, the patients had recently returned from trips to southern Africa and had not gotten booster doses. The case in Minnesota is the first known community transmission within the United States. The patient in Minnesota had recently travelled to New York City for an anime convention, prompting the city to launch contact tracing to try to contain the spread. “We are aware of a case of the Omicron variant identified in Minnesota that is associated with travel to a conference in New York City, and we should assume there is community spread of the variant in our city,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said ahead of Hochul’s announcement. Continue reading “U.S. reports first community transmission of Omicron as variant spreads across globe”

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(Reuters) -West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures slipped on Wednesday, reversing course from early gains after a U.S. official said the country was still considering tools to lower energy prices, and as government data pointed to weaker gasoline demand. Also pressuring oil prices, a new coronavirus variant triggered fresh travel restrictions that could dampen oil demand. Also, an OPEC+ document showed the group lifting its forecast for an oil surplus in the new year. WTI U.S. crude futures were down 51 cents, or 0.76%, at $65.77 a barrel at 1:49 p.m. ET (1849 GMT). During the session, they were up as much as 4%. Global benchmark Brent crude was down 24 cents, or 0.36%, at $68.99 a barrel. U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk said the Biden administration could adjust the timing of its planned release of strategic crude oil stockpiles if global energy prices drop substantially. He added that the White House was still studying proposals from Democratic lawmakers to ban crude oil exports to keep U.S. prices down. U.S. gasoline stocks rose 4 million barrels last week to 215.4 million barrels, government data showed, far surpassing analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for 29,000-barrel rise. Distillate stockpiles increased 2.2 million barrels to 123.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 462,000-barrel build. [EIA/S] Crude inventories fell 910,000 barrels in the week, data showed, compared with forecasts for a 1.2 million-barrel drop. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries concluded its meeting without a decision on whether to release more oil into the market. The OPEC+ alliance, which includes Russia and other producers, will likely take a policy decision on Thursday. Reports and analysts suggested that expectations were growing that the group will take a pause due to the threat from a new virus variant. “There is much to suggest that OPEC+ will not initially step up its oil production any further in an effort to maintain current prices at around $70/bbl,” PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said. OPEC+ sees the oil surplus growing to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, 3.4 million bpd in February and 3.8 million bpd in March next year, an internal report seen by Reuters showed. Several OPEC+ ministers, though, have said there is no need to change course. But even if OPEC+ agrees to go ahead with its planned supply increase in January, producers may struggle to add that much. Both Brent and WTI front-month contracts in November posted their steepest monthly falls in percentage terms since March 2020, down 16% and 21% respectively. Analysts at Goldman Sachs called the decline in oil prices “excessive,” saying “the market has far overshot the likely impact of the latest variant on oil demand with the structural repricing higher due to the dramatic change in the oil supply reaction function still ahead of us.”

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices rose more than 3% on Wednesday, recouping a big chunk of the previous session’s steep losses, as major producers prepared to discuss how to respond to the threat of a hit to fuel demand from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Brent crude futures rose $2.46, or 3.6%, to $71.69 a barrel at 0742 GMT, after rising to as high as $71.95 earlier in the day. The benchmark had slumped 3.9% on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $2.13, or 3.2%, to $68.31 a barrel, after a 5.4% drop on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet on Wednesday after 1300 GMT and ahead of a meeting on Thursday of OPEC+, which groups OPEC with allies including Russia. “Considering the weak price actions and recent Omicron developments, OPEC+ may intend to be more cautious on production increases,” said Leona Liu, analyst at Singapore-based DailyFX.

“The market expects the cartel may forego its proposed production plan for a while.”

Some analysts expect OPEC+ to pause plans to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in January in light of the potential hit to demand from travel curbs to rein in the spread of the Omicron variant. “Since (the) U.S. and other countries agreed on releasing emergency stocks to control the price rise… also since the prices have already corrected from $85 a barrel to close to $70, OPEC+ may revisit their strategy,” said Sunil Katke, head of commodities retail business at Kotak Securities. Several OPEC+ ministers, though, have said there was no need to change course. But even if OPEC+ agrees to go ahead with its planned supply increase in January, producers may struggle to add that much. A Reuters survey found OPEC pumped 27.74 million bpd in November, up 220,000 bpd from the previous month, but that was below the 254,000 bpd increase allowed for OPEC members under the OPEC+ agreement. In a sign of bearish demand, data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 747,000 barrels in the week ended Nov. 26, according to market sources, which was a smaller decline than expected.

• Previously, the CDC approved boosters for all vaccinated adults, but said priority should go to adults over 50.
• On Monday, director Rochelle Walensky strengthened that message, calling on all American adults to get extra shots.
• Walensky said boosters are key in light of the newly detected Omicron variant.

In light of global concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all adults in the US get booster doses of a COVID-19 vaccine — to temporarily supercharge the nation’s immunity.

Everyone ages 18 and older should get an additional shot, either six months after their Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after their J&J jab, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement Monday. Continue reading “FINALLY CDC says all adults should get COVID-19 booster shots”

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 could slow the recovery of the US economy and labor market and also heighten uncertainty regarding inflation, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony released Monday. Powell has consistently said the recent spike in inflation would be transitory, but acknowledged that the factors pushing US prices higher will “linger well into next year.” The comments to be delivered to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday indicate the central bank chief is growing more concerned about this year’s price increases, which has put pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates more quickly. The Fed slashed interest rates to zero in the early days of the pandemic and flooded the financial system with liquidity, which together with massive government aid helped to prevent a more damaging economic downturn. While the US economy has “continued to strengthen,” the resurgence of the pandemic has dragged on the recovery, starting with the arrival of the Delta variant over the summer, he said. The latest strain, which first emerged in South Africa, has jolted global policy and health officials as they scramble to determine if Omicron is more infectious or more serious, and whether current vaccines will be as effective. Financial markets tanked on Friday amid fears the global economy would suffer a severe setback, but rebounded on Monday. “The recent rise in Covid-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity, and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said. “Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions.” Those global snags have caused shortages of a variety of products, while pent up demand for goods also have contributed to a burst of price hikes. Continue reading “Fed’s Powell: Omicron to raise inflation uncertainty”

Continue reading “Fauci says new U.S. restrictions amid Omicron unlikely”