Public health specialists are reviving conversations about a potential vaccine, as mass protests following the death of George Floyd while being subdued by police continue in many U.S. cities.
White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday he’s concerned about the “durability” of a potential coronavirus vaccine, adding that there’s a chance it might not provide long-term immunity. And former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC Wednesday that any effective vaccine will likely still be seasonal.
This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 6.4 million
- Global deaths: At least 380,764
- U.S. cases: More than 1.83 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 106,181
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Reopening and protests could make for a bad fall season
11:25 a.m. ET — Amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd and the easing of restrictions across the country, public health specialists warn that Covid-19 threatens to bounce back later this year.
Some other countries that were hit hard by the virus, such as Germany and Italy, have driven down the number of daily new infections to just hundreds per day. The U.S. has struggled to do the same with more than 20,000 new cases diagnosed every day.
If that number doesn’t fall, the country could be in for another major outbreak in the fall, public health specialists who spoke with CNBC said, adding that the protests are likely to spread the virus.
“It’s heartbreaking on a number of levels, for sure from the infectious diseases and epidemiology levels,” Dr. Katie Passaretti said. “You have big groups coming together and people from far apart places coming together. It’s a risk for spread of Covid.” —Will Feuer
NYC Mayor says curfew will end as first phase of coronavirus reopening plan begins
11:15 a.m. ET — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that an 8 p.m. curfew imposed during the heated protests over George Floyd’s death are set to be lifted Monday morning, when the city kicks off the first phase of its coronavirus reopening plan.
“We’re going to end it, as per now … 5 a.m. Monday morning, curfew comes off,” de Blasio said at a press briefing Wednesday. “I’d like for us never to have to use it again if we can do things right, and then we go right into the reopening.”
The first phase of the plan to lift social distancing restrictions will include construction, manufacturing and wholesale businesses, as well as retail businesses that can provide curbside pickup services.
“New Yorkers are resourceful. I have great confidence people will be ready,” the mayor said. He apologized to any businesses dealing with the “additional challenge” of having to repair their stores following the violence and property destruction that occurred during protests over the past week. —Kevin Breuninger
AMC has ‘substantial doubt’ it can remain in business after closing all of its locations during the pandemic
“Theater Closed” signs are posted in front of the AMC Montebello, as the US chain of AMC movie theaters closes for 6 to 12 weeks, On March 17, 2020 in Montebello, California, as the coronavirus (covid-19) epidemic leads to restaurant and school closures and workers working from home in an effort to encourage social distancing.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
11:10 a.m. ET — AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the world, disclosed concerns about its liquidity and its ability to generate revenue in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
AMC shared preliminary earnings results that projected the company had lost between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, while theaters were shuttered due to social distancing regulations. Expectations are that losses will be even steeper in the second quarter.
“We are generating effectively no revenue,” the company said in its filing.
AMC also said it worried that distributors would continue to push back new film releases, either due to coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings or because of production delays, and that some studios will begin offering audiences more movies on-demand or through streaming. —Sarah Whitten
U.S. services PMI comes in better than expected
10:26 a.m. ET — The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing activity index rose to a reading of 45.4 last month from 41.8 in April. Economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting a reading of 44.4 in May. The April figure marked the first contraction in the U.S. services sector since December 2009 as the coronavirus pandemic roiled the economy. –Yun Li
Dow jumps 200 points at the open, rising for a third day
9:40 a.m. ET — Stocks opened higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 230 points, on pace for a third straight day of gains, despite uncertainty surrounding days of demonstrations to protest the killing of George Floyd and the persistent coronavirus crisis. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 index rebounded sharply from its March bottom, now sitting less than 1% from its record high. —Yun Li
J&J looking at virus’ impact on black communities, CEO says
9:26 a.m. ET — Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said the company is looking into the coronavirus’ disproportionate impact on black communities.
“What’s the underlying nature? What can we do better to make sure your zip code isn’t contributing more to your life expectancy, frankly, to other health-care factors,” he told CNBC.
J&J has been working on a potential vaccine to prevent Covid-19, which has infected more than 1.83 million across the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The company expects human testing of its experimental vaccine to begin by September and it could be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021. —Berkeley Lovelace, Jr.
New cases in Africa continue to soar
Vaccine will be ‘seasonal,’ Dr. Scott Gottlieb says
7:32 a.m. ET — Any coronavirus vaccine that proves to be safe and effective will still probably only provide immunity for a limited amount of time, maybe “up to a year,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said.
His comments come after White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday he worries about the “durability” of a potential coronavirus vaccine, saying there’s a chance it may not provide long-term immunity.
“This is probably going to be a seasonal vaccine,” Gottlieb said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It’s probably a vaccine that we’re going to need to take every year. Dr. Fauci’s right, the immunity’s not going to be long term in the form of a smallpox vaccine or a polio vaccine where you get the vaccine once and you’re protected for the rest of your life or most of your life.”
Eventually, people might be asked to take the coronavirus vaccine annually along with the flu vaccine, Gottlieb said. —Will Feuer
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina.
Sweden ‘could have done better’ in tackling outbreak, chief epidemiologist admits
People enjoy themselves at an outdoor restaruant, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in central Stockholm, Sweden, on April 20, 2020.
ANDERS WIKLUND
7:02 a.m. ET — Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, who advocated a no-lockdown strategy to combat the coronavirus crisis, conceded that more should have been done to tackle the epidemic.
“Yes, I think we could have done better in what we did in Sweden, clearly,” Anders Tegnell, state epidemiologist at Sweden’s Public Health Agency, told Swedish radio, according to a Reuters report.
“If we were to run into the same disease, knowing exactly what we know about it today, I think we would end up doing something in between what Sweden did and what the rest of the world has done,” he said.
Unlike most of Europe, Sweden decided against implementing a full lockdown of businesses and schools when the coronavirus began to spread in Europe in March, opting instead for softer, largely voluntary measures. —Holly Ellyatt
Spain eyes reopening to some tourism June 22
Participants run in front of Fuente Ymbro’s bulls during the fourth ‘encierro’ (bull-run) of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 10, 2015.
Miguel Riopa | AFP | Getty Images
