Coronavirus latest: Man who plotted to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to 6 years in prison

American Airlines has warned of slowing revenues in August as the rise in coronavirus cases caused by the Delta variant has led to an increase in cancellations. “August revenue is trending below our previous internal forecast,” Vasu Raja, American’s chief revenue officer, said, attributing the softness to “the recent uptick in Covid cases and related headlines”. 

Pfizer and BioNTech have become the first companies to apply for US regulatory approval of a booster vaccine, saying they started submitting data to the regulator on Wednesday. The companies are applying for full approval of a third vaccine dose in people aged over 16, which would be in addition to the full authorisation for their two-dose vaccine that was granted earlier this week by the Food and Drug Administration.

Delta Air Lines will begin charging unvaccinated employees enrolled in the company sponsored healthcare plan an additional $200 per month on November 1, chief executive Ed Bastian announced in a memo to staff. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” he said.

Moderna has submitted data to the US drugs regulator for full approval of its Covid-19 vaccine, days after BioNTech/Pfizer became the first to receive such authorisation. The biotech has applied for full authorisation of its two-shot mRNA Covid vaccine in adults aged over 18, the company said on Wednesday. 

Kazakhstan is to loosen its Covid-19 restrictions to allow businesses to open at weekends as the spread of infection slows. The decision, which comes into force on Saturday, allows certain businesses to open to fully vaccinated shoppers on Saturday and Sunday until midnight. The rule bans unvaccinated and untested people from entering public spaces on weekends.

A gauge of US business investment was flat last month following months of gains, while orders for long-lasting items fell as supply chain issues and labour shortages continue to hamper manufacturers. Non-defence capital spending excluding aircraft, considered a proxy for business investment, was flat in July compared with the previous month, the Census Bureau said on Wednesday.