Oct 22nd, 2021 - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans this week were handed a big decision when it comes to getting a COVID-19 vaccine booster. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday said individuals who qualify could choose a different vaccine from the one they received for their initial inoculation. For Americans asking how to choose, the following is what some experts advise: The CDC ...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - (Reuters) -Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc said on Friday their U.S. pharmacies started administering COVID-19 booster shots from Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson, in addition to previously authorized Pfizer-BioNTech booster. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended J&J and Moderna’s booster shots and said Americans can choose a different shot f...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - (Reuters) -HCA Healthcare Inc on Friday cautioned higher labor costs that tarnished strong third quarter profits could linger for longer as the hospital operator battles a staff crunch, sending the company’s shares down. A nationwide shortage of healthcare workers amid fatigue from a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has forced hospitals to shell out more to hire and retain nurses and other staff ami...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - Oct 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit totaled $2.772 trillion during fiscal 2021, below the prior year’s record shortfall but still reflecting a second straight year of massive spending to support households and businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, the Treasury Department said on Friday. The United States posted a deficit of $3.132 trillion in fiscal 2020, when the federal governme...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The Washington-area subway system said Friday it will continue sharply reduced subway service through at least Oct. 31 as it works to finalize plans to return most of its railcars to service after an Oct. 12 derailment. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on Sunday was ordered to indefinitely remove about 60% of the subway system’s railcars ...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - (Updates prices, adds analyst comment) Oct 22 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was little changed on Friday, as weakness in technology and healthcare stocks offset commodity-linked gains, however the benchmark index was on course for its third straight week of gains. At 9:42 a.m. ET (13:42 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 5.76 points, or 0.03%, at 21,206....

Oct 22nd, 2021 - Oct 22 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc said on Friday customers can start receiving booster COVID-19 shots from Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson at its U.S. stores. The move comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended the additional doses and said Americans can choose a different shot from their original inoculation as a booster.

Oct 22nd, 2021 - BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary’s main doctors’ association on Friday urged Hungarians not immunised against COVID-19 to stay away from mass rallies this weekend amid a rise in cases across central Europe. The region has the European Union’s lowest vaccination rates, an unwelcome distinction in which both political and economic factors play a role, and deadlier variants of the virus are spreading ...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of five to 11 year olds, the U.S. drugmaker said on Friday. Sixteen children in the trial who had received a placebo got COVID-19, compared with 3 who were vaccinated, Pfizer said in briefing documents submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Because mor...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - (Reuters) - Direct-to-consumer DNA testing firm 23andMe Holding Co said on Friday it would buy privately held company Lemonaid Health Inc for $400 million in a cash-and-stock deal, as it looks to expand into telemedicine. Lemonaid Health offers patients direct online access for a number of common conditions, from consultation through treatment. It also offers free and fast delivery of prescript...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - Oct 22 (Reuters) - Hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc reported a 240% rise in third-quarter profit on Friday, driven primarily by the sale of four hospitals in Georgia. Net income attributable to HCA rose to $2.27 billion, or $7.00 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $668 million, or $1.95 per share, a year earlier.

Oct 22nd, 2021 - Oct 22 (Reuters) - Consumer genetic company 23andMe Holding Co said on Friday it will buy privately held telehelath company Lemonaid Health Inc for $400 million in a cash-and-stock deal. (Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru)

Oct 22nd, 2021 - TOKYO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to sell the Paris-based robotics business behind its Pepper android to Germany’s United Robotics Group, according to sources and documents reviewed by Reuters, scaling back a business it once touted as a major growth driver. The talks are ongoing and plans could change, said two sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be named ...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Tencent’s WeChat has made its content searchable on some foreign search engines such as Google, and Microsoft’s Bing, according to Reuters checks. WeChat’s content, including articles and videos on its popular public accounts page, a function similar to a news portal, has opened to external search engines, other than its own Sogou search engine, in recent days. (Repo...

Oct 22nd, 2021 - WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had certified Mexico under a law that prohibits the import of shrimp harvested in ways that may adversely affect sea turtle species, allowing for imports of wild-caught shrimp from Mexico to resume. The department said in a statement it had notified the U.S. Congress of the certification based on a determination that “...

Oct 21st, 2021 - Oct 21 (Reuters) - * U.S. CDC ADVISERS VOTE TO RECOMMEND MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTER FOR OLDER ADULTS, SOME HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS * U.S. CDC ADVISERS VOTE TO RECOMMEND BOOSTER SHOT FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVED JOHNSON & JOHNSON COVID-19 VACCINE Further company coverage:

Oct 21st, 2021 - (Reuters) - A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday voted to recommend a booster dose of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine for people age 65 and older, and some high-risk individuals.

Oct 21st, 2021 - Oct 21 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc beat estimates for quarterly same-store sales on Thursday as COVID-19 vaccinations and new items encouraged more people to dine out at its restaurants despite higher prices. Comparable sales rose 15.1% in the third quarter, compared with market expectations of 13.4% growth, according to Refinitiv data. (Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York and Prave...

Oct 21st, 2021 - WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday that Democrats are working hard to agree on a framework for President Joe Biden’s social legislation but that “outstanding issues” remain. (Reporting by David Morgan, Editing by Franklin Paul)

Oct 21st, 2021 - Oct 21 (Reuters) - A panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday are considering several recommendations for rollout of COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson , expected to pave the way for additional shots for millions of Americans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the booster doses U.S. FDA c...