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The Trump administration on Tuesday issued new guidelines extending coronavirus vaccine eligibility to anyone aged 65 and over, as well as those with comorbid conditions such as diabetes.

States’ focus on vaccinating health care workers and nursing homes has created a bottleneck, a senior administrative official told CNBC, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement.

“States are being told immediately that they need to expand to include those over 65 as well as those under 65 with comorbid conditions,” the official said.

The government will also stop holding back millions of doses reserved for the second round of Pfizer and Moderna two-dose vaccines, the official said, adding that they had released doses that were held in reserve Sunday.

“The states should not wait to complete the prioritization of phase 1a before moving on to broader categories of eligibility,” said Azar on Tuesday the new guidelines. “Think of it like getting on a plane. You may have a sequential order in which you board people. But you don’t wait for literally every person in a group to board before moving on to the next . “

Approximately 53 million Americans aged 65 and over and 110 million people aged 16 to 64 with comorbid conditions can now get the vaccine if each state applies guidelines according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced Friday that his administration plans to release all cans held in reserve.

The Trump administration is expected to announce the change at a press conference Tuesday with representatives from Operation Warp Speed, the White House’s vaccination program.

US surgeon general Jerome Adams also confirmed the changes in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning.

“We will have clear instructions from the CDC to the governors that they should vaccinate people 65 years of age and older and those under 64 years of age with chronic illness,” he said.

US officials are trying to speed up the pace of vaccinations after a slower-than-expected rollout.

As of Monday morning, more than 25.4 million doses had been distributed in the US, but just over 8.9 million shots had been administered according to CDC data. The number is a far cry from the federal government’s goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of 2020 and 50 million Americans by the end of this month.

State and local health officials have said they are strapped for cash. They blame insufficient funding and inconsistent communication from the federal government for the slow roll-out.

Democrats and some public health experts have criticized the government for the slow pace. In a letter Monday, Senate Democrats urged the government to make changes, saying it “failed” states by not providing detailed guidance on how to effectively distribute the doses.

The US “cannot afford to have this vaccination campaign continue to be hampered by the lack of planning, communication and leadership we have seen so far,” wrote Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Senate minority, and 44 other Democrats. “The metric that matters, and where we are clearly moving too slowly, is vaccines in weapons.”

In an attempt to speed up the pace of vaccinations, the Secretary for Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, and the Commissioner for Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn, last week urged states to start vaccinating lower priority groups against Covid-19.

The CDC recommends immunizing health care workers and nursing homes first, but states are free to distribute the vaccine at their discretion. Hahn told reporters that states should give shots to groups that “make sense” such as the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, police, fire departments and other key workers.

“We heard in the press that some people said, ‘OK, I’m waiting for all of my healthcare workers to be vaccinated. We have a vaccine intake of around 35%.’ I think it makes sense to “extend this to other groups,” said Hahn on Friday. “I would strongly encourage states to give the states the opportunity to be more expansive about who they can give the vaccine to.”

It is unclear whether increasing the eligibility will accelerate the pace of vaccinations. Some states, including Texas and Florida, have already expanded their eligibility criteria.

Starbucks is launching a $ 100 million fund that aims to invest in community development projects and small businesses in areas populated by blacks, indigenous peoples and colored people.

The company’s Community Resilience Fund is part of a broader plan to strengthen its commitment to racial and social justice, particularly in the communities where it operates cafes. In June, when Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets to urge an end to racism and police brutality, Starbucks pledged $ 1 million in grants from its inception and joined numerous companies that said they did would give money to fight racism. Starbucks eventually issued an additional $ 500,000 in grants.

The coffee chain has also looked inward to make its workforce more diverse by setting goals for their management roles and tying executive compensation to those benchmarks.

Starbucks plans to use the new fund to invest $ 100 million in 12 US cities that are home to black, indigenous or colored people over the next four years.

The cities are Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, DC. In Philadelphia in 2018 police arrested two black men waiting for a business meeting to begin before coffee is ordered, boycotts are triggered and Starbucks is forced to shut down its company-owned cafes nationwide for a day of racist bias training.

The money goes to impact financial institutions, such as community development financial institutions, that provide financial services to low-income people. Small business and neighborhood development projects are ultimately intended to be the beneficiaries of the program.

The aim is to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. Over the past year, many small businesses missed federal funding from the paycheck protection program, which should help them stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We know these communities. These are some of our business partners, and in some cases they are even a small supplier to Starbucks,” said Roz Brewer, chief operating officer. “And when you think about it and you can’t help but have empathy for them, you want them to thrive too, but we also understand what they’re going through.”

In 2019, Starbucks pledged to invest $ 10 million in CFDIs based in Chicago. Brewer said the company is working with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to make sure the money goes to essentials. Starbucks is already speaking to local governments in the areas that will benefit from the new fund.

Starbucks’ commitment to social causes, including racial justice and climate change, has made the company popular with investors who consider environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations when choosing stocks. Analysis by RBC Capital Markets found that Starbucks is the most popular restaurant stock in the S&P 500, with actively managed funds dedicated to ESG investing.

Starbucks shares were up 16% last year as the market closed on Monday, giving the company a market value of $ 123 billion.

Women sunbathers sit on a beach in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 24, 2020, while the Burj al-Arab Hotel can be seen behind it. After a painful four-month hiatus in tourism that ended in early July, Dubai is paying off as a safe travel destination with the resources to ward off coronaviruses.

KARIM SAHIB | AFP via Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – While much of the world suffered full or partial coronavirus lockdowns this winter, the Middle East leisure and commercial hub in Dubai welcomed tourists who longed for a semblance of normal beaches and reopened restaurants, shopping malls , Amusement parks and hotels.

But the Gulf emirate with around 3.4 million inhabitants may see clouds on the horizon after a long journey with low Covid-19 cases. Britain, one of Dubai’s largest tourist sources, removed the United Arab Emirates from its “safe travel corridor” within two weeks from late December after the country’s daily Covid cases nearly tripled. That means travelers returning to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the UAE will have to self-isolate for 10 days from Tuesday.

“The LATEST data shows that we need to remove the #UAE from the # TRAVELCORRIDOR list immediately,” tweeted UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps late Monday evening. “As of 4:00 am, Tuesday January 12th, anyone arriving from the UAE must self-isolate.”

To date, the UAE has recorded around 233,000 Covid cases and 711 deaths since the pandemic began. The last case count average for the past week was 2,607.

The UK, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe by the virus and the fifth highest in the world in terms of cases and deaths, has recorded 3.12 million cases and more than 82,000 deaths.

A bubble of relative normality

After one of the strictest bans in the world was imposed in March and April 2020, Dubai’s economy gradually began to re-open, although the neighboring and capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, remained largely closed. Tourists have been welcoming again since July 7, and in recent months the tourism sector, which typically accounts for around 12% of Dubai’s GDP, has seen a relatively healthy recovery.

By introducing a remote work visa program, the company also benefited from its openness and “Safe Travel” certification. The signing of the Abrahamic Agreement in August has attracted a growing flow of first-time visitors from Israel. The rental and hotel prices have risen in the winter months. Dubai’s restaurants and bars were bustling and the authorities allowed private gatherings for up to 30 people during the New Year celebrations.

The irony of the British move is not lost for some Dubai residents. The British flooded the resorts in Dubai to escape the harsh winter lockdown in Great Britain. This was triggered by the discovery of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus that is 70% more transmissible than its predecessor.

“The cases are ridiculous”

British social media influencers and celebrities flocked to Dubai’s famous nightclubs and beaches, posting bikini selfies on Instagram as dozens of countries banned British travelers for fear of the new variant of the virus.

“They sent all of their Covid cases to us and now they are telling their citizens that it is unsafe to travel to the UAE! You must be kidding,” a Dubai resident told CNBC.

“Good relief, the cases are ridiculous,” said another Dubai resident of the British visitors.

The UAE State Department declined to respond to a CNBC request for comment. The UK Department of Transport did not respond to a CNBC comment request at the time of writing.

Dubai has demonstrated its efforts to adhere to Covid’s best security practices. Masks are required in all public places, workers can be seen constantly cleaning up public areas, and markings indicating safe distances are ubiquitous. Negative coronavirus tests are required for entry from some countries before boarding, while other travelers – such as those from the UK – were allowed to receive PCR tests upon arrival at Dubai Airport.

The UAE also benefits from a predominantly young population as the 90% expat population, on which much of its economy depends, cannot retire in the country. This explains why the virus death rate is so low.

Coronavirus tests are readily available, and the country is running its vaccination campaign swiftly, offering both Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and Chinese Sinopharm vaccine free to all residents. Moderna’s vaccine will soon be on that list. Experts say the speed of the vaccination campaign is second only to Israel’s.

With the visitor boom and the new strain of the virus spread in more than 40 countries to date, many in the United Arab Emirates believe that it was only a matter of time before Dubai’s Covid-safe bubble burst.

In contrast, the UK has not required a health certificate or a negative Covid test result for arrivals since the pandemic began. Travelers to the country describe not even asking or taking their temperature when they arrived at UK airports.

Starting January 15, negative tests will be required for the first time for international arrivals that take place within 72 hours of departure, the UK Department of Transport said this week.

He Xiaopeng, CEO of Xpeng, stands next to the company’s P7 electric sedan speaking to the media at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show.

Evelyn Cheng | CNBC

In July 2020, local branches of four of the “Big Five” banks granted Nio 10.4 billion yuan in loans for the startup’s China activities in Hefei near Shanghai. Participants in this deal included China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, according to an announcement by Nio.

In China’s state-dominated system, banks prefer to lend to state-owned companies. This makes it difficult for private companies to obtain funding unless they can convince state banks of their ability to repay loans.

Xpeng’s credit line announcement comes after the company raised more than $ 4 billion last year from its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in August and a follow-up offering in December.

Shares have risen more than 195% since going public.

Where is the money going?

The start-up did not reveal details of the loan terms on Tuesday. The agreement will help the Guangzhou-based company expand its manufacturing, sales, service and other activities, according to a press release.

Xpeng said it started building a second factory in November. The company opened 116 retail stores and 50 service centers as of September 30. Xpeng announced in September that it was investing in the development of flying vehicles.

Deliveries totaled 27,041 last year, with more than half coming from a new P7 sedan that began mass deliveries in late June. The company added that it shipped 100 units of its G3 SUV to customers in Norway in December.

Although total deliveries have more than doubled compared to the previous year, Xpeng’s numbers fell short of Nio’s more than 43,700 deliveries. Nio’s vehicles have hit the high end of the market while Xpeng’s price range has been lower.

In the past two weeks, both companies have announced plans for new sedans. Nio’s is expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year. Xpeng claims its sedan will be delivered later this year.

SINGAPORE – As domestic automakers in China attempt to position themselves against Tesla in the growing Chinese electric vehicle space, Nio is well positioned to capture a sizable slice of the market, an analyst told CNBC.

The Chinese electric car start-up released its first sedan, the et7, on Saturday with self-driving technology features that are said to outperform those of Tesla. An et7 with a 70-kilowatt-per-hour battery starts at 448,000 yuan ($ 69,000) before the subsidy.

“This is the symbol for Nio in the sedan category,” said Bill Russo, founder and CEO of Automobility Limited, on CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Monday. He said the company has already established itself as a premium brand in the SUV category, where it sells faster than its peer group in China.

“Now they are moving into the sedan segment or the premium car segment,” Russo said, adding that the et7 will compete with Tesla’s imported Model S.

“Obviously the pricing that was announced on Nio Day is actually pretty competitive with the Model S,” he said, adding, “It’s a statement of claim, it’s a statement of where they hope their brand is and under position the Chinese company. ” They realize they are the premium (electric vehicle) company. “

Last year, Reuters reported that Tesla cut its Model S price in China by 3%.

Catch up with Tesla

China is already the world’s largest car market. In its quest to become a leader in electric vehicle technology, Beijing has supported the industry with subsidies, relaxed restrictions and the expansion of charging infrastructure.

Domestic electric vehicle manufacturers including Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng said deliveries rose sharply over the past year. Government data showed that January-November sales of all-electric vehicles rose 4.4% year over year, while total passenger car sales fell 7.6% over the same period. Even so, their delivery numbers lagged behind those of Tesla.

“Obviously everyone is trying to position themselves against Tesla. Tesla is certainly the market leader. It has a market capitalization that is so far ahead of everyone else,” said Russo. Tesla’s market value as of Monday is around $ 768.93 billion, while Nio has a market capitalization of around $ 98.63 billion.

Employees conduct checks on an inspection line during a media tour of Nio Inc.’s manufacturing facility in Hefei, Anhui Province, China on Friday, December 4, 2020.

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nio “is trying to establish itself as the Chinese Tesla, which means that as a premium EV brand in China you have to compare yourself to access to the Chinese market, which will grow significantly over the next five years,” said Russo.

“These companies will grow with the market and I think Nio is well positioned to capture a lot of it,” he said, adding that the company still does not control the entire supply chain, relying on third party components like autonomous driving chipsets .

For its part, Tesla has stepped up its efforts in China, including further promotions on New Years Day. The company has a factory in the country that can produce 250,000 vehicles and has announced a new China-made vehicle, Model Y, priced at 339,900 yuan.

– CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.