southern hemisphere, and so what can we expect for the vaccines and the treatments going forward meg terrells joining us live with a special guest. meg? >> thank you, brian, so much, and of course, two variants that we are hearing a lot about lately for the coronavirus, and one is associated with the u.k. it has now been identified in several states in the united states, and it is concerning, because it a appears to be more transmissible and some say up to 50% more transmissible. there is another strain out of south africa and that one, we have not heard about here in the u.s., but it is potentially concerning, because it affects how our vaccines and drugs work. we spoke about this with the manufacturer of the eli lilly drug makers. >> the south african variant is the one to be concerned, because it has more dramatic spike to the protein that is the target of these, and it could evade our medicines. >> joining us to discuss this is vere technologies ceo who has a drug that may not be vulnerable to this variant. and thank you for joining us to the jpmorgan conference that you will be presenti

cnbc's meg terrell takes a look at where we stand and this week marks one year since the first coronaviruse in the united states in the past 12 months 400,000 americans have died. tonight and for the first time the nation mourns together sights and sounds from a ceremony led by the incoming president of the united states it's either the assurance of a 165-point certification process. or it isn't. it's either testing an array of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. now through march 1st. shop online or drop by your local dealer today. man: i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an

cnbc's meg terrell takes a look at where we stand, and this week marks one year since the first coronavirus the united states in the past 12 months 400,000 americans have died. tonight and for the first time the nation mourns together sights and sounds from a ceremony led by the incoming ceremony led by the incoming president of th♪ united states. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for every trip you've been dreaming of, expedia has millions of flexible booking options. because the best trip is wherever we go together. ♪ first up is this french onion dip. i'm going to start the bidding at $5. thank you, sir. $6 over there! going once. going twice. sold! don't get mad get e*trade and get more than just trading investing. banking. guidance. >>> a whole lot of netflix and thrill for investors that's what's topping cnbc's "on the money. the world's largest streaming service topped 200 million global subscribers after adding 8.5 million new users in the fourth quarter alone, more thand 2020 was netflix's expected 2020 was netflix's biggest growth year ever driven by people stuck at home under covid. after-market hours, th

the stock is flattening after the session so far let's go to senior health and science reporter meg terrelleissa. up to $2.6 billion the u.s. government paying regeneron for up to 1.2 million gos of this covid antibody drug. joining us is regeneron's ceo to talk with us lynn, tell us about this major contract and really what it signals about the government's hope for using your drug to help with the pandemic. >> right thanks, appreciate you getting us on on short notice. we think this is very important. at the end of the day, if you're going to fight this terrible pandemic, you're going to have to use public health measures, you're going to have to use vaccines, but you're also going to have to use therapeutics. we think one of the most promising approaches is to supply antibodies to people who aren't making enough anti-bodies on their own if you don't have antibodies you're going to have a thousand times more virus in you than if you do if you have been admitted to a hospital, you've got six times of a chance of dying of those who have giving people antibodies makes a lot of sense and what

for that we go to meg terrell. >> we learn moderna plans to test a booster shot of the covid-19 vaccine year after the regimen. so folks still got those two shots four weeks apart, and now they are testing giving a booster shot a year later. the company talked about that at the conference this week, and i just got a participant that said they received outreach about participating in the booster study. it's unknown given this is a new virus and this is a new vaccine and new vaccine technology, and moderna ceo telling me he thinks the market will resemble the flu market where you might need a booster every year and in a few years they may need to tweak it for new variants of the virus, and it was already up 3.5% back over to you >> meg, could they give us the flu booster and the flu shot with the coronavirus booster in one shot, or not necessarily >> it's certainly possible that down the line they could formulate a vaccine that could both of those antigens in it right now we just don't know, and they would have to test it and make sure it's safe. it's something to consider moderna is gett

. >> meg terrell, hope's ahead, thank you. >>> pfizers says it's willing to sell its vaccines directlythe states if the federal government approves the move the biden administration said they don't want states competing with each other. dr. mortgage maccholesterol land w -- mcclelland. when will this no longer be an issue? do we no e >> sheppard, that supply will be increasing not probably enough to keep up with the large number of americans who really want to get vaccinated now you remember just a week ago, there was a big gap between the vaccines that have been produced and distributed to states and the number of shots in arms. what has been really remarkable is how many states have been able to catch up and reduce that gap. but now, we're seeing that with more science and a vaccine opening up, some excess demand kicking in, and i do think the new administration will set a goal of a million doses per day, we have been at that level the last couple days i think people will expect a higher level of vaccine distribution and administration. it will be challenging i think the supply will

i say this not to be gratuitous but i don't know as a network what we'd be able to do without meg terrelle over the last year. you think about what she's done covering this specific topic, it's extraordinary i think it's worth mentioning again. >> i think i speak on behalf of the other traders when i say plus four. i'm seconding that motion for sure karen, when you hear about this, do you think about your position, let's say, in the live nation and think i'm closer to that other side here >> yeah. although that stock is already recovered fully. it's cured it seems to be but what i do think about is cvs. i do think that, you know, looking for value as we maybe have this rotation out of growth into value, if this is one of the ways we get the vaccine out there, that's great for cvs coming into the store, and i think that's an interesting way to play it as well >> yeah. tim? >> i don't think that the story and lilly is you're not buying it on today's news everyone has pointed out how fantastic this news is it's a pipeline. margin spanks. alzheimer's, and up think that's part of why the stock'

. >> yeah, i remember when meg terrell said that her mom drove across the country to see them this yeardn't have a choice. we'll leave it there and hand it off to "closing bell" to pick up coverage thanks for watching and we'll see you back here tomorrow >>> thank you, kelly and tyler welcome to "closing bell." i'm sarah eisen with wilfred frost. another rocky day on wall street was 2021 gets off to a volatile start. the major averages now firmly higher as we enter the final hour of trade. let's look at what's driving the action right now it's election day in georgia and investors are closely watching the outcome of the

meg terrell is covering that all day. >>> so j&j with its single shot vaccine reporting results fromt phase three trial and 44,000 people across three continents in the united states efficacy of 72% against moderate to severe disease. overall globally the efficacy was 66%, which included south africa where they saw a lot of that strain of b1351 which was thought to evade the protections from vaccines. importantly they're focusing on this figure, 85% efficacy overall in preventing severe disease, actually keeping people out of the hospital and preventing potential death from covid. now the company says it plans to file for emergency use authorization in the u.s. next week and in addition to being a one-shot vaccine this one can be stored in the fridge for three months at 36 to 46 degrees fahrenheit we talked with the chief scientific officer about that severe disease figure earlier. here is what he said >> we got 85%protection agains severe disease 100% protection for death and 100% protection for hospitalization. you look at the challenge of the pandemic at the moment, it's exactly t

meg terrell covers this vaccine for us, and what is the biggest challenge of the rollout of the vaccine, and the inauguration speech certainly confirmed that it is top of the mind. >> certainly, shep. you know, some of thethemes that president biden talked about in that address were public good, the duties that the things that we owe to each other, and our responsibility to one another, and a lot of that speaks to what we are asked to do in terms of public health, and wearing masks and not to protect just yourself, but each other, and a lot of the executive orders to see from the president have to do with the pandemic, and we are hearing that he is going to sign an executive order to require masks on federal buildings on federal lands and asking everybody to partake in the 100-day masking challenge, and also to create a covid-19 coordinator position to report to the president, and restoring the national security council pandemic office and focus on the biodefense office and preparing for this pandemic, and the next pandemic, and rejoining the world health organization and dr. fauci is g

. >> meg terrelle with the latest at this hour. >>> stocks sinking in the first trading day of 2021. the dow dropping 700 at the lows and down about 501 right now walgreens, boots, walmart are some positive stocks and boeing is the worst performer, down 4.5% we'll take a look at the risks affecting the market next, and did bitcoin tell us something, near the $35,000 market, but it dn 'sowabout 2% today have we seen the top we'll discuss that right after this ♪ ♪ digital transformation has failed to take off. because it hasn't removed the endless mundane work we all hate. ♪ ♪ automation can solve that by taking on repetitive tasks for us. unleash your potential. uipath. reboot work. >>> welcome back markets are skidding lower this hour with all three major average down more than 2%. the dow down 724 at lows just under 500 right now in terms of the point decline if you're looking for reasons we do name a few maybe, the georgia runoff tomorrow could hand senate control to the democrats and increase the scope of president biden's agenda also, some inflation pressures emerging with the ma

meg terrelle joins us with the details. hey, meg. >> reporter: melissa, we've been talking a lot about new variants of concern from around the world and wondering whether our vaccines will work against them. there's, of course, the one from the uk known has b-117 and the one associated with south africa known as b-1351. that one in particular along with p-1 have been particularly concerning about how well the vaccines will work the moderna put out a statement this morning and posted a paper to a pre-pipt nod peer-reviewed server saying the vaccines appear to protect against those strains and for the b-117 in particular as the same level as for other strains. sixfold lower neutralizing titers for the b-135 is variant, the one associated with south africa which sounds really bad but they still expect the vaccine to protect at that level but they will test a booster shot of the original vaccine and develop a new vaccine targeting that particular strain to see if that helps with the level of immunity we talked with the ceo of mo

the government is now accused of lying about vaccine reserves meg terrelle, what are these governorsiming >> reporter: well, shep, some governors are angry about a report that a reserve of second doses 40s covid-19 vaccines has been exhausted this was a key point of contention between operation warp speed and its critics to hold back half the supply of shots to make sure evan could get the second dotes on time or giving them all and counting on manufacturing to come through. they've sthipd all the cases held in reserve. alex aczar speaking with nbc's lester holt. >> sitting on a reserve anymore. we've made that available to the states to order. >> but states had expected a dramatic increase in available doses after tuesday's announcement and they say that didn't happen. oregon's governor kate brown tweeting quote last night i received disturbing news minnesota's governor tim walsh upset as well. >> they were lying they don't have any doses held back there is no strategic supply for the second doses >> what appears to be happening, though, shep, is another miscommunication pfizer tell

meg terrell covers science and medicine for us. what do we know about this new effort by moderna? >> reporter: well, shep, the first thing to know is moderna thinks its vaccine still works against these new variants it looked at two in particular, one known as b.1.1.7 associated with the uk and one called b.1.351, which is associated with south africa and which shares some similarities with that p1 strain from brazil you just mentioned now, what moderna found against b.1.1.7, it appeared to produce the same level of neutralizing antibodies against prior strains. against b.1.351 they saw a sixfold reduction. that's concerning, but the antibody levels are still high enough that they believe they'll be protective. moderna said it plans to test both a booster shot of its original vaccine and develop a new vaccine targeting the b.1.351 variant out of what its ceo told us is an abundance of caution. >> what is unknowable is what will happen in 6 months, in 12 months, especially to the elderly because they have a weaker immune system, and immunity might go down over time >> reporter: now

another big story we're following is johnson & johnson out with new covid-19 trial results and meg terrel has the details for us meg? >> hey, david, well, we were obviously anticipating, because it is the first one shot vaccine we are getting for covid results from massive phase three clinical trial, 44,000 people across three continents. in the u.s. the efficacy figure against moderate to severe covid was 72%. and now, when they incorporated the global results, which included a much lower rate in south africa, where you have that troublesome variant circulating, 66% efficacy overall. importantly, against severe disease, being able to prevent people from going to the hospital or dying interest covid, 85% efficacy globally including those results from south africa, so that's what we're hearing experts focusing on today, the ability to keep people out of the hospital with a single shot vaccine. and in addition to being one shot, there are other benefits to the vaccine including that it can be stored in the refrigerate at temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees fahrenheit for up to three months and

. >> yeah, i remember when meg terrell said that her mom drove across the country to see them this year, didn't have a choice. we'll leave it there and hand it off to "closing bell" to pick up coverage thanks for watching and we'll see you back here tomorrow >>> thank you, kelly and tyler welcome to "closing bell." i'm sarah eisen with wilfred frost. another rocky day on wall street was 2021 gets off to a volatile start. the major averages now firmly higher as we enter the final hour of trade. let's look at what's driving the action right now it's election day in georgia and investors are closely watching the outcome of the two special senate races which are likely to have a big impact on joe biden's policy objectives. some positive news on the data front, the manufacturing index topping expectations for december, hitting its highest level in more than two years and energy, the top-performing sector as oil prices break above $50 a barrel, first time since february this following a production cut from saudi arabia. we're going to discuss it in a moment 59 minutes left to go in the sessio