VP Harris’ press pool sent home after member tests positive for Covid
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a virtual town hall with female congressional lawmakers and women leaders to discuss the administration?s ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response and the importance of passing coronavirus aid legislation at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 18, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The group of journalists covering Vice President Kamala Harris was sent home Wednesday morning after one of its members tested positive for Covid, the White House said.
The unidentified person tested positive for the virus during routine screening and had no contact with Harris or other White House staff, according to a statement from the office of President Joe Biden.
“As soon as we were notified, we disbanded the Vice President’s pool and sent them home. They will be tested again tomorrow,” the statement said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we made arrangements for the briefing room to be cleaned,” Biden’s office said, adding that the White House has begun the process of contact tracing.
Harris is scheduled to join Biden today to receive the daily intelligence brief in the Oval Office and later to have lunch with the president. Biden and Harris will then meet with labor leaders at the White House to discuss the president’s infrastructure goals and the Covid relief bill. All of those events are set to be held without reporters present, though the press pool may hear from Biden at the top of the meeting with labor leaders.
—Kevin Breuninger
Drugmakers vow to ramp up vaccine production after sluggish start
Drugmakers are significantly ramping up Covid-19 vaccine production after working out manufacturing issues that initially delayed the first shots, executives testified before Congress Tuesday.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., pressed Pfizer and Moderna executives on why they missed early U.S. delivery targets of their vaccines, saying that “the amount of supply has fallen short of expectations.”
“We did initially experience some problems with the initial ramp-up of our vaccine,” Pfizer Chief Business Officer John Young testified at the hearing. “In common with other panelists here, we’ve been in the process of developing a manufacturing process for a vaccine product that we’ve never made before.”
Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hoge defended the company’s progress, noting that it just narrowly missed its goal of delivering 20 million doses by the end of last year. The company, he said, delivered 17.8 million doses by Dec. 31.
“We ultimately had never, when we were trying to make those estimates, manufactured doses at this scale,” Hoge said at the hearing. “We had a lot to learn along the way, and many of the challenges that we ran into were the normal sort of training experiences as you train people to operate a complicated process.”
—Will Feuer
France hopes to avoid third lockdown with extra local restrictions
CNBC’s Charlotte Reed reports on fresh local restrictions being introduced in France as new Covid-19 cases remain on a high plateau and the pressure grows on intensive care units.
J&J vaccine clears a key hurdle on the path to an emergency use authorization
Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot Covid vaccine cleared a key hurdle on the path to an emergency use authorization, earning an endorsement by staff at the Food and Drug Administration, CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. reports.
The staff report comes ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on Friday and could mean the green light for a third U.S. vaccine as soon as this week.
The vaccine was found to be 66% effective in protecting against the virus, though less so in regions where virus variants are taking hold. Still, the drug prevented 100% of virus-related hospitalizations and deaths.
—Sara Salinas
Lowe’s warns of likely drop in home improvement demand in coming months
A shopper departs after visiting a Lowe’s hardware store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2020.
Mark Makela | Reuters
As more Americans feel safe going out to dinner or getting away for the weekend again, Lowe’s said it expects a drop in demand for cans of paint and other supplies for do-it-yourself projects.
The retailer topped analysts’ expectations for the fiscal fourth quarter, as same-store sales grew by 28.1%. The company said it continued to benefit from people investing in their homes during the pandemic.
Lowe’s warned, however, that strong demand for home improvement will moderate as more people get Covid-19 vaccines and spend less time at home. The company reiterated a forecast that it gave at an investor day in December, saying demand will likely decline by 5% to 7% — even in a robust market.
—Melissa Repko
CVS to start offering vaccines in six more states
A CVS Pharmacy store is seen in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
CVS will start offering Covid vaccine shots in six more states on Thursday, expanding the roster to a total of 17 states. The latest additions are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Drugstores are likely to be a key player in getting doses into the arms of the general population.
The drugstore chain was already offering the vaccine at pharmacies in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
—Sara Salinas
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