Physician discusses when it’s safe to gather after getting a Covid vaccine
Dr. Kavita Patel, a primary care physician and Brookings Institute fellow, joined “Squawk Box” to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s post-immunization guidelines and when we can expect the safe return of small gatherings.
—Melodie Warner
Williams-Sonoma sales get a boost from people spending more time at home
Williams-Sonoma posted a 22% jump in third-quarter revenue as demand for all things home-related increased amid travel restrictions and more people working from home, CNBC’s Shawn Baldwin reports.
The 65-year-old retailer sells home goods, high-end cookware and furniture through its seven brands including Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma and West Elm.
—Melodie Warner
Spirit Airlines hiring flight crews for first time since pandemic’s start
Spirit Airlines is hiring again as the discount airline aims to increase flights in hopes of a travel rebound later this year.
Training for new pilots and flight attendants starts next month, Spirit said. Spirit last trained a class of new pilots in May and new flight attendants in February 2020. It ended last year with 8,756 employees, including 2,497 pilots and 4,028 flight attendants.
Other airlines are trying to shrink headcount through voluntary measures. American Airlines and United Airlines are supporting additional government payroll support for workers with a combined 27,000 employees facing furlough when the current round of aid expires on March 31.
Late Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee advanced the proposal for $14 billion in additional federal payroll support for airlines, which would be a part of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
—Leslie Josephs
White House Covid official to meet with airline CEOs on Friday
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden listens as Jeff Zients, named as Biden’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) czar to oversee the response to the pandemic, addresses a news conference at Biden’s transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, December 8, 2020.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The CEOs of major U.S. airlines are planning to meet virtually with the White House’s Covid response coordinator, Jeff Zients, and other administration officials to discuss travel-related issues, including plans to require Covid-19 testing ahead of domestic flights, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Southwest Airlines Co-CEO Gary Kelly and leaders of its unions urged President Joe Biden in a letter to not mandate pre-departure testing.
“Such a mandate would be counterproductive, costly, and have serious unintended consequences,” including putting jobs at risk, according to the letter, which was released on Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January said the Biden administration was “actively looking” at mandatory testing for U.S. domestic flights. On Jan. 26, the CDC began requiring testing or evidence of recovery from Covid-19 from nearly all U.S.-bound international passengers age 2 and older.
—Terri Cullen
Physicians warn Covid may never go away and people need to learn to live with it
Healthcare workers wearing protective gear prepare to attend patients at the Portimao Arena sports pavilion converted in a field hospital for Covid-19 patients at Portimao, in the Algarve region, on February 9, 2021. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)
PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA | AFP | Getty Images
A growing chorus of infectious disease experts and public health officials have warned the coronavirus will become endemic, saying people need to learn to live with the virus.
“I think if you speak with most epidemiologists and most public health workers, they would say today that they believe this disease will become endemic, at least in the short term and most likely in the long term,” said David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Heymann is the chair of the WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards and led the health agency’s infectious disease unit during the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.
His comments echo the thoughts of White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel and the World Health Organization’s Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Program Dr. Mike Ryan.
— Sam Meredith
Japan approves its first Covid vaccine, made by Pfizer, NHK TV reports
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Sergio Perez | Reuters
Japanese health officials approved the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine, made by Pfizer, NHK national television reported, according to Reuters.
Japan has been rushing to contain a third wave of infections as it prepared to host the Olympic Games, Reuters said.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said vaccinations will begin from the middle of next week, the wire service reported, and the government hopes to secure enough doses for the whole country by mid-year.
The Tokyo Olympic Games are slated to start on July 23.
—Terri Cullen
Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here: