J&J s COVID-19 vaccine could protect millions - if people take it
One-dose version s overall efficacy is below Pfizer, Moderna
Angelica LaVito and Riley Griffin, Bloomberg
March 1, 2021
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Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine could protect millions more Americans from contracting the coronavirus. The key will be assuring people that the single-shot vaccine is worth taking, as its overall efficacy appears lower than the two-dose ones already on the market in the U.S.
J&J’s shot, which U.S. regulators authorized Saturday, is more convenient than the vaccines cleared by the Food and Drug Administration last year. It requires one injection and can be stored for months in a refrigerator. State health officials and the Biden administration see it as a way to quickly host mass clinics as more transmissible virus variants continue to spread. Yet the ease of distributing the vaccine will need to be balanced with the risk of creating the perception that J&J’s sho
Israel gives half of population at least one COVID shot
Yaacov Benmeleh, Bloomberg
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Israel has now vaccinated half its population against Covid-19, another milestone on the way to subduing the pandemic.
More than 4.6 million people have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, according to Health Ministry data released Friday. With nearly 8% of the country having recovered from the disease and likely developing some resistance to reinfection, that could bring Israel closer to herd immunity.
Vaccinating about 60% to 70% of the population should be enough to rein in infections, illness and death, estimates Raina MacIntyre, a professor of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, based off the latest data from Israel.
Oil climbs for 7th-straight session
Bloomberg
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Offshore drilling rigs in the North Sea.Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Oil continued its advance for the seventh straight session on expectations of a strong rebound in demand and as as the dollar weakened.
Futures in New York climbed to above $58 a barrel, the highest since January 2020 after a choppy trading session Tuesday. The nearest Brent contract sharply widened its premium to the following month, pointing to supply tightness, with inventories shrinking globally and amid expectations of further supply declines in the U.S. A weaker U.S. dollar is boosting the appeal of commodities priced in the greenback.
COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech shot likely to foil mutant, new study shows
Study on South Africa strain suggests some re-infection threat
Naomi Kresge and Janice Kew, Bloomberg
Jan. 20, 2021
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Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE built the case that their Covid-19 vaccine will protect against the new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the U.K. with results of another lab trial.
Like previous work out of the University of Texas Medical Branch, the results published on Wednesday showed that antibodies in the blood of people who had been vaccinated were able to neutralize a version of the mutant virus that was created in the lab. The study was published on preprint server BioRxiv prior to peer review.
Oil slumps along with consumer sentiment
Andres Guerra Luz, Bloomberg
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FILE - In this April 24, 2015, file photo, pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M.Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
Oil slid by the most in three weeks as a stronger dollar and weak U.S. economic data stoked concerns over an economic rebound.
Futures in New York tumbled 2.3 percent on Friday after a rally in oil earlier in the week pushed the benchmark into overbought territory. The U.S. dollar strengthened, reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the currency. U.S. consumer sentiment cooled more than forecast in January and other economic data such as sluggish retail sales and producer prices also portray the obstacles still facing the country as it emerges from the pandemic.