Service sector activity in the US at its highest level in almost two years

The UK is trying to contain the spread of several strains of the coronavirus in the country, with a new South African variant appearing across the country and sometimes with no links to international travel, according to a report by CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the country had to “fall hard” on the South African strain after registering 105 cases, with 11 of the cases showing no link to international travel. The variant known as the “British strain” constitutes the majority of cases in the country.

Viruses mutate all the time and the discovery of variants is normal, but experts worry that variants could mean faster and later spread of the virus.

As of Feb. 1, nearly 10 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine and just under 500,000 have received a second dose, according to government data.

—Rich Méndez

Activity in the U.S. services sector reached its highest level in nearly two years, raising hopes that the pandemic-hit sector is in a recovery phase, Reuters reports.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing activity index rose to 58.7 in January, the highest reading since February 2019 and above its pre-pandemic level, Reuters said. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected the reading to reach 56.8.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the services sector.

Spending in the services sector drastically shifted to commodities as the pandemic forced closures and pushed people away from public places such as restaurants and bars, according to Reuters. Now that several drug manufacturers have begun producing and distributing vaccines, hopes are rising that the virus may be contained and that the economy may soon return to a resemblance to normalcy.

–Terri Cullen

Older Americans in the United States who are now eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine are having a hard time booking an appointment to get the life-saving drug online. Some have recruited younger family members or friends who can quickly maneuver through the registration process before taking all the seats.

However, the amount of doses of Pfizer and Moderna is still limited, which has led to a demand that has far exceeded supply.

“I wanted to throw the computer out the window. It was very frustrating,” said Jane Heller, a 70-year-old author and screenwriter based in Florida.

Angela Abruzzino, of Buffalo County, New York, said she has been trying to book appointments for her parents, who are over 80 years old. The process has been a full-time effort and so far has been unsuccessful, he said.

“My parents couldn’t have done it alone,” Abruzzino said.

“Noah Higgins-Dunn will shoot.”

Biotech firm Vaxart said its experimental coronavirus vaccine taken orally showed promising results in an early-stage clinical trial of 35 healthy adults.

The vaccine, contained in a small tablet, generated a type of T cell responsible for destroying virus-infected cells in approximately 75% of volunteers who received a single low or high dose, the company, and added that the responses reported were higher than those seen in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

However, no neutralizing antibodies were detected in volunteers after a single dose, Vaxart said. Researchers believe that antibodies play an important role in defending cells against the virus.

The company also said no serious adverse events were reported in the first-phase trial, with generally mild side effects.

“The most exciting of the [phase one data] “We can get a very, very strong response from T cells even after a dose,” Sean Tucker, Vaxart’s chief scientific officer, told CNBC in a telephone interview. He added that T cells are probably “undervalued” compared to antibodies to fight viruses.

—Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

U.S. private companies added 174,000 new jobs in January, causing the 50,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists, according to CNBC’s Jeff Cox.

The national labor market continues to recover from widespread coronavirus unemployment and historical unemployment. This rebound has been rocky lately, as a resurgence of virus transmission and more contagious variants threaten communities.

-Sara Salines

According to the results of a new study, the UK’s decision to delay the second shot of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University coronavirus vaccine is an effective strategy, which also concluded that a single shot can reduce the transmission of the virus. .

Researchers at Oxford University found that the Covid-19 vaccine was 76% effective in preventing symptomatic infection for three months after a single dose and, in fact, found that the efficacy rate increased with a longer interval between first and second dose.

The efficacy rate increased to 82.4% when there was at least a 12-week interval before the second dose. When the second dose was administered less than six weeks after the first, the efficacy rate was 54.9%.

The study, not yet reviewed by experts, also found a 67% reduction in transmission after the first dose of the vaccine. The UK health secretary said on Wednesday that the study’s findings were “absolutely excellent”.

–Holly Ellyatt