The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the third vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease The EUA allows Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S for use in individuals 18 years of age and older. The FDA has determined that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria for issuance of an EUA. The totality of the available data "provides clear evidence that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine may be effective in preventing COVID-19," the agency said in a statement. The data also show that the vaccine's known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks, supporting the company's request for the vaccine's use in people 18 years of age and older. The Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is manufactured using a specific type of virus called adenovirus type 26. The vaccine uses Ad26 to deliver a piece of the DNA, or genetic material, that is used to make the distinctive "spike" protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the FDA said. While adenoviruses are a group of viruses that are relatively common, Ad26, which can cause cold symptoms and pink eye, has been modified for the vaccine so that it cannot replicate in the human body to cause illness, it added. After a person receives this vaccine, the body can temporarily make the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against SARS-CoV-2.

Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway's fourth quarter profits rose, with its net earnings rising to $38.5B, or $23,015 a Class A share equivalent, up almost 23% from the previous year's profit of $29.2B, or $17,909 a share. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, rose to $5B from $4.4B the year before. Buffett also said in his annual shareholder letter to "never bet against America." "In its brief 232 years of existence... there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America," he added. "Despite some severe interruptions, our country's economic progress has been breathtaking. Our unwavering conclusion: Never bet against America." Buffett noted that the conglomerate owns the biggest amount of U.S. assets by value than any other company in the country.