Gas prices reach fresh record high, why a booster may be more important than ever, and more COVID news | National News

In another blow to the US economy, prices at the pump soared to fresh record highs.

The national average price for regular gasoline climbed more than four cents on Tuesday to $4.37 a gallon, according to AAA. That takes out the prior record of $4.33 set on March 11.

The gas spike — prices are up 17 cents in the past week alone — will only add to inflationary pressures that have raised recession fears, rocked financial markets and soured Americans’ views on the economy. Get more info on rising gas prices here:

International brands are revealing the damage to their bottom lines from China’s “zero Covid” policy, where tens of millions of people remain in lockdown and almost every major business has been disrupted.

In recent weeks, dozens of mainland Chinese cities, including the financial hub of Shanghai, have been locked down as authorities work to stamp out the coronavirus. For industries ranging from Big Tech to consumer goods, that’s destroying both supply and demand — and giving executives another major headache. Find out more here:

With waning immunity and a coronavirus that seems to become more infectious with each new variant, the Biden administration predicts that up to 100 million more people could get Covid-19 in the fall and winter. That estimate makes it crucial that as many people as possible get booster shots of Covid-19 vaccine, experts say. And if you’re eligible, it’s a good time to get a second booster.

Less than half of eligible Americans — only about a third of the total US population — have gotten a first booster dose, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Get more information here:

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added one destination — a relaxed Caribbean playground — to its “high” category for Covid-19 risk.

The British Virgin Islands moved up to Level 3 on Monday; it previously had been at Level 2.

The islands are known for the famous Virgin Gorda Baths (a bay dotted with giant granite boulders); water sports such as diving and sailing; and a pace that is more casual than some of the Caribbean’s hot spots. Get more CDC travel ratings here:

Peloton’s uphill ride to get more sales is getting rougher as more people return to gyms and other pre-pandemic exercise routines and embrace cheaper options.

The maker of high-end exercise bikes and treadmills, once highflying in the early days of the pandemic, on Tuesday reported mounting losses and slowing sale. It also offered a bleak sales outlook for the current quarter and said it had signed a commitment to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars, raising questions for some investors about the chances of a turnaround. Read more here:

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