US Business

Barring the emergence of drastically different variants, Covid boosters will likely be recommended annually in a similar manner to influenza vaccines, US health officials said Tuesday.

The announcement came after the Food and Drug Administration last week authorized updated bivalent shots against both the original strain of the coronavirus and the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant, which are predominant.

“We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual updated Covid-19 shots matched to the currently circulating strains,” President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told reporters.

However, the elderly and immunocompromised may require more frequent shots — and the annual strategy would have to be reviewed in case of a “curveball” such as a dangerous new variant that differs dramatically from predictions.

Ashish Jha, the White House Covid coordinator, added the message was “simple” — if you are 12 or older, and have been previously vaccinated, now is the time to get boosted. 

If you were recently infected or vaccinated, “it’s reasonable to wait a few months,” he added.

People can get their Covid booster at the same time as the flu booster, he said. “I really believe this is why God gave us two arms, one for the flu shot and the other one for the Covid shot.”

Officials expect millions of people to receive their bivalent boosters, made by Pfizer and Moderna, in the month of September, and are focused especially on people aged 50 and up.

“Winter is not that far away. The past two years, we have seen COVID-19 cases and deaths soar. It does not have to be that way this year,” Biden said in a statement. “If you are 12 and older, go get your new Covid-19 shot this fall.” 

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walenksky said projections showed that uptake of Covid boosters at rates similar to annual flu coverage could prevent as many as 100,000 hospitalizations and 9,000 deaths.

The updated vaccines were recommended by the CDC last week on the basis of favorable animal data, which showed they produced a greater immune response and lowered levels of the virus in the lungs, compared to older shots.

The Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages comprise 99 percent of circulating coronavirus in the United States and are predicted to continue to dominate this fall and winter.

US President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday said it would be counterproductive to brand Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism,” rejecting calls from Ukraine and lawmakers to take the far-reaching action.

Biden, asked by a reporter on Monday if he would blacklist Russia as a terrorist state, said simply, “no,” after months of non-committal answers from senior officials.

Asked Tuesday whether a decision had been made, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a terrorism designation was “not the most effective or strongest path forward” to “hold Russia accountable.”

She said the designation would hamper aid delivery to parts of war-ravaged Ukraine or prevent aid groups and companies from participating in a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to ship badly needed grain from Ukraine’s blockaded ports.

“It would also undercut our unprecedented multilateral (coalition) that has been so effective to holding Putin accountable and could also undermine our ability to support Ukraine” in negotiations, she told reporters.

A label of “state sponsor of terrorism” by the United States, the world’s largest economy, has wide-ranging ramifications, with many businesses and banks unwilling to incur the risk of legal action by US prosecutors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to label Russia formally as a terrorist state following a series of attacks that killed civilians, notably a strike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk in June in which at least 18 people died.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, asked about Biden’s decision, said the lack of a designation now “does not mean that it can never be made.”

“We are grateful to the US for everything they continue to do for Ukraine, but on this particular issue, we will not back down and will continue to insist on our position, as it will be the right decision indeed,” he said.

– Stepping up pressure –

At the United Nations, Ukraine’s envoy also renewed calls for the designation as he lamented Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying Moscow was deliberately trying to raise dangers.

“This can be corrected only by strengthening sanctions — only by officially recognizing Russia as a terrorist state at all levels,” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the UN Security Council.

Latvia’s parliament in August declared Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism,” saying it was carrying out “genocide” against Ukrainians, but French President Emmanuel Macron in June also explicitly ruled out the label.

US lawmakers across party lines including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have urged Biden to brand Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, seeing it as a way to step up pressure after months of economic sanctions over Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

The United States only brands four nations as state sponsors of terrorism, all US nemeses with much smaller economies than Russia’s — Iran, Syria, North Korea and Cuba.

Cuba was added controversially back to the list in the final days of former president Donald Trump’s administration, which took a hardline approach to the communist-ruled island.

The Biden administration on taking office reversed a Trump decision to brand Yemen’s Iranian-backed Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, also out of concern for hampering aid.

Juul Labs will pay $438.5 million to settle a probe by 34 US states that found the vaping company marketed to underage smokers, state officials announced Tuesday.

Under the agreement, which is still being finalized, Juul would provide payments over the next 6-10 years to individual US states and pledge to not employ cartoons in ads or otherwise market to younger consumers.

The probe was launched two years ago by state officials in Connecticut, Oregon and Texas.

The investigation “revealed that Juul wilfully engaged in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for them to purchase and unhealthy for children,” according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Justice.

Juul “relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using young and trendy-looking models, social media posts and free samples,” the press release said, adding that the company used age verification techniques “that it knew were ineffective.”

Juul called the settlement “a significant part of our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the past,” a Juul spokesman said.

“We remain focused on the future as we work to fulfill our mission to transition adult smokers away from cigarettes — the number one cause of preventable death — while combating underage use.”

Juul has argued that vaping products can provide a solution to the harmful health impacts from conventional combustible cigarettes.

Juul has been blamed for a surge in youth vaping over its marketing of fruit and candy flavored e-cigarettes, which it stopped selling in 2019.

In January 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration said sale of e-cigarettes in flavors other than tobacco or menthol would be illegal unless specifically authorized by the government.

On June 23, the FDA said it was ordering all products made by Juul Labs off the market after finding the vaping giant had failed to address certain safety concerns.

The following day, a US Court suspended the FDA’s action following a Juul appeal.

The Juul spokesman said the agency has submitted an appeal to the FDA, adding that “we continue to offer our products to adult smokers throughout the US.”

Justin Bieber said Tuesday he is once again taking a break from touring, months after revealing he’d been diagnosed with a syndrome that caused him partial facial paralysis.

In June the 28-year-old megastar had pushed back the North American leg of his “Justice” tour due to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a complication of shingles.

Bieber recently went back on the road, performing six live shows in Europe as well as the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil this weekend.

But he said Tuesday his return to the stage had been premature.

“This past weekend I performed at Rock in Rio and I gave everything I have to the people in Brazil. After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me and I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now,” Bieber said.

“So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being,” the “Peaches” singer continued. 

“I’m going to be OK, but I need time to rest and get better. I’ve been so proud to bring this show and our message of justice to the world.”

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that can inflame and paralyze the facial nerve, and cause a painful rash around the ear or mouth. In addition to facial paralysis, it can cause hearing loss.

Bieber had dozens of performances across the globe scheduled through March 2023.

The superstar did not give an estimated timeline of recovery or indicate whether the “Justice” tour would ever resume.

Covid-19 had forced two postponements even before the singer’s health began suffering.

At least two people are dead and thousands have been ordered to flee a rapidly spreading fire in California, with the region’s oppressive heatwave expected to peak Tuesday.

Several buildings were destroyed as the Fairview fire erupted southeast of Los Angeles, racing to consume 2,400 acres (1,000 hectares) in less than 24 hours.

Firefighters said two people were known to have died in the blaze, and one person had been hospitalized with burn injuries.

More than 3,000 homes are under orders to evacuate, and all local schools have been shuttered.

The blaze was “spreading very quickly before firefighters even got on scene,” a local fire department spokesman said on Twitter.

California is in the middle of a ferocious heatwave, with temperatures of 110 Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) being recorded in several areas.

That, coupled with a two-decade drought that has left the countryside tinder dry, is creating ideal conditions for explosive wildfires.

The heat hit the state, as well as parts of neighboring Arizona and Nevada, last week, and is forecast to continue until around Thursday.

– Flex Alert –

The California Independent System Operator (ISO), which runs the state’s power grid, has issued several consecutive “Flex Alerts.”

These call on households to limit power consumption between 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm to avoid straining the over-burdened system.

That typically means turning up the thermostat on air conditioning systems, avoiding using major appliances, and not charging electric vehicles during this time.

But California ISO president Elliot Mainzer warned Monday that an incredibly hot Tuesday would put even more pressure on the grid, and called for consumers to redouble their efforts.

“This is an extraordinary heat event we are experiencing, and the efforts by consumers to lean in and reduce their energy use after 4:00 pm are absolutely essential,” said Mainzer.

“Over the last several days we have seen a positive impact on lowering demand because of everyone’s help, but now we need a reduction in energy use that is two or three times greater than what we’ve seen so far as this historic heat wave continues to intensify.”

California has abundant solar installations, including on homes, which typically provide for around a third of the state’s power requirements during daylight.

But when the sun goes down, that supply falls quickly, leaving traditional generation to plug the gap. The problem is particularly acute in the early evening when temperatures are still high, but solar starts dropping out of the power mix.

Scientists say global warming, which is being driven chiefly by humanity’s unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is making natural weather variations more extreme.

Heat waves are getting hotter and more intense, while storms are getting wetter and, in many cases, more dangerous.

Barring the emergence of drastically different variants, Covid boosters will likely be recommended annually in a similar manner to influenza vaccines, US health officials said Tuesday.

The announcement came after the Food and Drug Administration last week authorized updated bivalent shots against both the original strain of the coronavirus and the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant, which are predominant.

“We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual updated Covid-19 shots matched to the currently circulating strains,” President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told reporters.

However, the elderly and immunocompromised may require more frequent shots — and the annual strategy would have to be reviewed in case of a “curveball” such as a dangerous new variant that differs dramatically from predictions.

Ashish Jha, the White House Covid coordinator, added the message was “simple” — if you are 12 or older, and have been previously vaccinated, now is the time to get boosted. 

If you were recently infected or vaccinated, “it’s reasonable to wait a few months,” he added.

People can get their Covid booster at the same time as the flu booster, he said. “I really believe this is why God gave us two arms, one for the flu shot and the other one for the Covid shot.”

Officials expect millions of people to receive their bivalent boosters, made by Pfizer and Moderna, in the month of September, and are focused especially on people aged 50 and up.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walenksky said projections showed that uptake of Covid boosters at rates similar to annual flu coverage could prevent as many as 100,000 hospitalizations and 9,000 deaths.

The updated vaccines were recommended by the CDC last week on the basis of favorable animal data, which showed they produced a greater immune response and lowered levels of the virus in the lungs, compared to older shots.

The Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages comprise 99 percent of circulating coronavirus in the United States and are predicted to continue to dominate this fall and winter.