$Pfizer (PFE.US)$ and its partner BioNTech announced Thursday evening that they will seek authorization from the FDA for a third "booster" dose of their COVID vaccines that will offer increased protection against the Delta variant (despite the fact that both Pfizer and its rival Moderna repeatedly insisted that its vaccines are still effective against all known variants including Delta). The company referenced the data out of Israel, where government scientists have estimated the real efficacy of the vaccine vs. Delta is somewhere around 64%, while leaving particularly vulnerable patients at risk of severe illness and death. The booster dose would ideally be given within 6 to 12 months post-vaccination. The news is surprisingly aggressive, considering the FDA hasn't even approved the first generation of vaccines yet (they were all granted emergency authorizations, and the FDA is still evaluating safety data, which is why we know the mRNA jabs cause rare side effects including heart inflammation in a small number of men). The CDC and FDA will decide whether to recommend a third dose. But they have a pretty strong track record of safeguarding the interests of the Big Pharma companies that produced the vaccines. And when asked about getting the vaccine shot i’ll tell them the same thing i tell my wife “Keep that thing away from me!”
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Wednesday, after fluctuations throughout the day, the three major U.S. indices end the session near record highs after the Federal Reserve's minutes showed that officials debated the tapering of asset purchases and continued to see elevated levels of economic uncertainty.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$and $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$rose 0.3% and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ended the session roughly flat.
10 top-traded US stocks for Wednesday
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