abbott laboratories is ramping up production of covid-19 tests. the latest variant coinciding with the holiday travel season. the ceo spoke with ed ludlow. >> i think we have seen a convergence of two things, a new variant, highly transmissible variant, in combination with a time when there is a lot of trouble, thanksgiving, christmas. people wanted to get together. the combination of those two factors had an impact. abbott laboratories has been at the forefront, leading the way, manufacturing the tests in the u.s.. we saw cases go down in the beginning of 2021, so we had to ramp down our manufacturing, but as delta resurged in the u.s., we reengaged our manufacture and we are back to 50 million. this month, 70 million. i'm working with my team every day to see if we can get to 100 million. >> these tests can detect the omicron variant? >> the answer is yes. we have been working closely with our scientists and scientists around the world. we have a network of scientists, and we keep studying not only the omicron variant, but mutations to make sure

abbott laboratories believes this is a behavior that is here to stay.are developing a new diagnostic testing channel with all of our partners to create an opportunity for people to be able to test not only at hospitals or doctors offices but even at pharmacies in their premises and at their homes. i think this is a trend that will stay. caroline: great interview by ed ludlow with abbott ceo robert ford. i want to continue this conversation on covid testing with the co-ceo of a health tech company that produces rapid covid tests. talk to us about the sheer scale of demand right now. >> yes, caroline, it is a pleasure to be here. thank you for the opportunity. the scale of demand is unbelievable. we are seeing demand across the board. we are seeing it from federal government to state government to large corporations all the way to small businesses and now direct to consumer. demand is off the charts. as much as we pride ourselves on being data-driven, we were able to predict really well and be available to consumers and enterprises alike throughout the pa

last year both stores pledged to sell kits made by abbott laboratories that cost for 100 days and that was to expand testing options for americans. those 100 days were up and consumers will pay at least 500 -- five dollars more. >>> in las vegas the consumer electronics show kicks off today with the latest in tech. that includes some new vehicles. >> reporter: ces is back in las vegas after last year's all virtual event and hundreds of companies are on hand showing off devices and gadgets but with covid cases rising, many large corporations chose to stay home and do virtual presentations including gm. the all electric chevy silverado can travel up to 400 miles on a charge and besides the nearly 6 foot long bed there is also a trunk in the front and a brand-new display loaded with features. >> reporter: how are these coming more high tech? >> manufacturers have realized they create technology and consumers expect not just cars that are efficient but those that are high tech. >> reporter: dan patterson said it is not just car companies unveiling vehicles but so many showed off an electri

both stores are selling the kits made by abbott laboratories.ast year they pledged to sell the product at cost for 100 days to expand testing options for americans. those 100 days are now up. instead of $14, consumers will pay at least $5 more depending on the store. the testing kits are currently sold out on line at both kroger and walmart. >>> for the first time general motors has been outsold in the u.s. by another automaker. toyota edged out gm last year. the japanese car company sold 2.3 million vehicles. gm sold 2.2 million. analysts say toyota handled the supply chain issues better than gm. >>> and crystal pepsi is making a comeback to celebrate 30 years. you won't find it in stores. pepsi announced a contest on twitter. they want you to submit a photo of yourself from the '90s. better be a good one. there will be 300 winners. the deadline is tomorrow morning. crystal pepsi was announced in 1992. it had just a short run of two years, but the clear soda has returned since for several contests. it was also on the shelves for about two month

the ceo of abbott laboratories says his company is planning to produce 100 million tests this month in san francisco. people spending time in line waiting say getting a test kit in their mailbox would be a huge help. thing that we have peace of mind for people. that would be very beautiful. but right now we don't have that stuff. so we got to be in line in san francisco. i'm james torrez, ktvu fox two news. ended response to the surge of the omicron vary in the county of san mateo is expanding opportunities for covid-19 testing testing is now available in san mateo county event center parking lot between seven a.m. in the morning and for this afternoon seven days a week. the testing site has the ability to provide 2000 pcr tests daily. those tests typically returned results within 72 hours. appointments are required through a third party contractor called virus geeks. people we spoke with today. see the process was quick and easy and much appreciated by the community. i do think it was a good idea with the name the number of cases that have been going on. it's a nice way to get tested.

>> abbott laboratories make it now. we have seen the revenues that the company has had. quadrupled based on what we had. they got a big surge during the delta variant and it is expected that revenues could increase further. >> we appreciate her joining us there. discussing how they plan to push the voting rights agenda. this is bloomberg. ♪ alex: this is bloomberg markets. tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary since the january 6 insurrection in 2020. there will be events throughout the day. also ndc, the agenda from president biden and things like voting rights legislation and a filibuster rule are also on the table. where does it go from here? professor, tomorrow will be a big day. it was a historic moment last year. how will democrats use tomorrow to push through their agenda for the rest of the month? >> there will be a couple of steps to this. we will hear from president biden and vice president harris, noting the historical significance of the day. biden, his administration and congress will be looking to tie it to the urgency of their legislation. from a democra

abbott laboratories said the company is ramping up production of its covid-19 test after the convergesf a highly contagious variant with the holiday season led to an unprecedented demand. >> i think we have seen a convergence of two things. we have seen a new variant, a highly transmissible variant in combination with a time of year where there is a lot of travel. thanksgiving and christmas, people wanted to get together. combination of two two factors had unprecedented demand. since the getting of the pandemic, maybe it has been at the 45 paired begin manufacturing with a manufacturing sites in september of 2020. we got to 50 million tests. we sell cases go down in the beginning of 2021 so we had to ramp down our manufacturing. as delta resurged during the u.s., we quickly reengaged. we are back to 50 million. this month, we will do 70 million. i'm working with my team every day to see if we can get to 100 million. >>>> just to be sure, these tests can detect the omicron variant. >> this is definitely -- the answer is yes. we have been working not only with our own scientists but with

abbott laboratories set to receive more than half of that.g number of covid infections in hong kong is hurting political and health care leaders. they are known for the zealous covid zero approach. hitting levels not seen in a year, and some infections appear to be coming from unusual sources such as family pets and recycled items from apartment buildings. the surgeon the coronavirus infections has claimed another casualty. adele's residency start in las vegas, and she announced the delay on video on social media. >> hi, listen, i am so sorry, but my show ain't ready. we tried absolutely everything we can to put it together in time and make it good enough for you, but we have been absolutely destroyed by delivery blows and covid. justin: the show was scheduled to open tonight at caesar's palace. she says half of her team has coronavirus. global news 24 hours a day, on-air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am justin morton. this is bloomberg. guy: supplying -- supply

what happens as that's harder to maintain we'll continue covering it, of course >>> meanwhile, abbott laboratories of at-home covid test binax now heading the consumer electronic show in las vegas. the first for a healthcare company. they have big plans to ramp up production of their tests, which we'll get to in a moment but, first, some product news. i got a chance to talk to abbott's chairman and ceo robert ford after his keynote on stage yesterday. the company is developing a new category biowearables. the name is lingo. designed to attract key signals in the body for people to better understand their health and take action take a listen. >> we started our sensor journey here with freestyle libra for diabetes and right now the most used sensor around the globe and we always knew that it would be a platform and use what we built on our manufacturing and technology and look at that and say are there other things that we can measure that would provide insight to the consumer and allow them to live healthier lives? and about two years ago we tucked away a team to start working on that and today at

is just packed up we can't make enough >> reporter: the largest manufacturer in the country, abbott laboratories not enough. the antigen test here, 1 of 15 home tests authorized by the fda. >> is there a good reason to be fearful that there's not enough test kits? >> we're working around the clock to make sure that everybody who wants to get tested, gets tested immediately. >> reporter: in many stores, shelves are empty. if you are able to score a self-test, be prepared to pay. two weeks ago, prices were $7. now up to $25. and on ebay, they're going for as much as 80 bucks each but it's those do-it-yourself tests that are the fastest and easiest way to find out if you're infected. critical, experts say, to slowing the spread >> if we test regularly and detect it, you're going to be safer, your family is going to be safer, your community is going to be safer. >> reporter: they take the results one step further, a snapshot of the results are uploaded anonymously to the cloud allowing artificial intelligence to track geographic covid clusters >> you can look at a town and if you see a large cluster