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Thanks to all who attended the Healthy Returns Summit this week! The CNBC health team has highlights from the big event, including exclusive comments from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Kathrin Jansen, the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, and Abbott Labs CEO Robert Ford. We've also got the latest pandemic news out of the CDC and FDA.
Up ahead: CEOs from Novartis, Pfizer, SAP, Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald's, Hyatt and more international leaders join the CNBC Evolve Global Summit on June 16 for provocative conversations about adapting, innovating, and transforming in this new era of business across sectors. Learn more & register.
| Fully vaccinated people can ditch their masks almost everywhere | The CDC cited the real-world effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing disease and reducing transmission — including against variants — and dropping case numbers, in its updated guidance. But it comes after intense criticism of the agency for moving too slowly on the science. At this week's Healthy Returns Summit, Director Rochelle Walensky told us science is what guides her in this job: "As long as I know, every day, that I close my day knowing that I have let the science speak ...that I am doing my absolute best to protect the public, that's what I go to bed with every day, and that's my plan every morning when I get up." -Meg Tirrell | | Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is now cleared for use in adolescents | The CDC on Wednesday signed off on the expanded usage of Pfizer's and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, clearing the way for pediatricians to start giving out the shots across the U.S. Two days earlier, the FDA approved the use of the shot for young teens on an emergency use basis. Kathrin Jansen, head of Pfizer's vaccine research and development, said at the Healthy Returns Summit that the mRNA technology used to develop the Covid vaccine could also help create "more potent" seasonal flu shots. "I think the great success of the mRNA vaccines in addressing Covid-19 has clearly opened up a large number of possibilities." -Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | Teladoc CEO: Telehealth is here to stay | Teledoc CEO Jason Gorevic told me at the Healthy Returns Summit what investors are getting wrong about his stock. He said telehealth is more than a pandemic phenomenon. What investors are seeing is a more competitive landscape that now includes Amazon. When I pressed him, Gorevic gamely sized up those rivals. -Bertha Coombs | | Abbott Labs' team of 'virus hunters' track Covid variants for future tests | Abbott Labs has a team of scientists working with health officials around the world to monitor Covid-19 variants, CEO Robert Ford said during an interview at the Healthy Returns Summit. The FDA alerted clinical staff in January that new variants can cause false negative Covid-19 test results. The agency identified three tests, none of which were made by Abbott, that could be less accurate because the part of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence the tests were looking for had mutated in some of the variants. Ford emphasized that "it can't just be a U.S. thing. With all the countries, all the universities, all the different collection sites, then I think that's the way to go." -Richard Mendez | | Kevin O'Leary: Psychedelic drugs 'far exceed' cannabis investment potential | Kevin O'Leary is invested in MindMed and Compass Pathways, two public companies pioneering a new mental health market focused on psychedelic compounds like psilocybin. The "Shark Tank" star and investor said at the Healthy Returns Summit that the size and scale of the market for treatment of mental health conditions like depression and PTSD shows "incredible potential," though it is risky. The investor said he looks at new uses for illegal drugs "pragmatically" and as an investor it makes more sense to him to bet on psychedelics where research is increasingly showing medicinal efficacy. -Eric Rosenbaum | |
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