Coronavirus

COVID-19 vaccines to stress-test grocery stores and pharmacies

The U.S. fell far short of its initial goal of inoculating 20 million people by the end of 2020, with health departments, hospital systems and long-term-care facilities beset by supply-chain bottlenecks, vaccine hesitancy and confusing, scattershot systems for making appointments.

COVID-19 lockdowns spur shift to high-end liquor

People who can’t spend on concerts, travel and watching live sports are splurging instead on high-end spirits to drink at home, say alcohol executives. That drove U.S. distillers’ revenue up 7.7% to $31.2 billion last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council—or DISCUS—a trade body.

Coronavirus stimulus payment may arrive as a debit card, IRS says

While the vast majority of the more than 100 million $600 coronavirus stimulus checks approved by Congress late last year were deposited directly into Americans’ bank accounts, several million others were sent through prepaid debit cards and in paper checks.