More than 10,000 “breakthrough” cases of coronavirus were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the end of April, at which time about 100m Americans had been fully vaccinated. Between January 1 and April 30, a total of 10,262 individuals had tested positive despite being fully vaccinated, in what is known as a breakthrough infection.
Sales of newly built homes in the US fell more than expected last month. New residential sales, which account for about 10 per cent of the housing market, fell 5.9 per cent in April compared with March to an annualised rate of 863,000 units, the commerce department said on Tuesday.
United Airlines said on Tuesday it would be profitable in the third quarter because of higher prices for domestic summer travel. While business travel remains depressed, the Chicago company said in a filing that it expects domestic leisure yields for summer travel to exceed 2019 levels. Yield measures average ticket price for a given distance.
A Siberian province will make vaccination against Covid-19 compulsory for some workers after several officials warned Russia’s uptake of vaccines was catastrophically slow. Aisen Nikolaev, governor Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, said that employers were required to vaccinate all educational personnel, staff at children’s summer camps and workers in the event industry or face a fine of Rbs200,000 ($2,700).
Moderna will join the effort to vaccinate children against Covid-19 after a phase three trial showed its vaccine is safe and effective in under 18s. The vaccine showed 100 per cent efficacy 14 days after the second shot in a trial of 3,732 adolescents aged 12 to 17, the company said. The children were given 100mg doses, the same dose as the vaccine administered to adults, and experienced no significant safety issues.
The self-employed and those on the lowest incomes remain the hardest hit in the UK during the pandemic. The same groups whose finances were affected initially by the crisis remained worse off up to mid-April, the Office for National Statistics said. The self-employed were three times as likely to report reduced income than employees and twice as likely to use savings to cover living costs.