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The CEO of the modern drug maker raised new alarms in financial markets on Tuesday, warning that existing COVID-19 vaccines would be more effective against the Omicron variant than against the Delta variant.
European major stock markets fell about 1.5 percent at the start of trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed 1.6 percent, crude oil futures fell more than 3 percent, and the Australian dollar was a year low as Stephane Bancel’s comments sparked fears of prolonging vaccine resistance. pandemic.
“There’s no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] it’s the same level … we had it with the Delta, ”Bancel told the Financial Times.
“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I don’t know how much data we have to wait for. But all the scientists I’ve talked to … they say “this isn’t going to be good,” Bancel said.
Balancing this, however, Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), told the European Parliament that even if the new variant is rolled out, existing vaccines will continue to be protected.
Modern did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, nor did he say when he expects data on the effectiveness of his vaccine from Omicron, saying the World Health Organization (WHO) has a very high risk of further infections.
Vaccine for the new variant
Bancel had previously told the CNBC announcer that it would take months to start sending the vaccine designed for the new variant.
The WHO and scientists have also said it would take weeks for Omicron to escape the protection against immunity that could cause serious illness or vaccines.
Cook said laboratory tests for “cross-neutralization” would take about two weeks. If COVID-19 vaccines needed to be changed, new ones could be approved within three to four months, he added.
“The vaccine will probably take you out of the hospital,” said John Wherry, director of the Penn Immunology Institute in Philadelphia.
Moderna and BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson drug producers are working on vaccines specifically targeted at Omicron if existing shots are not effective against it. Modern is also testing a higher dose of an existing booster.
Uncertainty about the new variant has raised global alarm, with the closure of the border overshadowing the two-year economic recovery from the pandemic.
News of its creation drew about $ 2 trillion from global stocks on Friday, but it returned a bit of calm on Monday.
“Information on the Omicron variant is sketchy, how drastic its symptoms will be and how easily they can spread, as well as the effectiveness of current vaccines,” said Kelvin Wong, an analyst at CMC Markets (Singapore) Pte. “I expect more downside risk in the coming weeks unless there is more clarity about omicron voltage.”
Doubts about the vaccine dampened China’s positive data, which showed that the factory’s sentiment improved in November as the impact of the power cut eased and inflationary pressures eased. Hang Seng’s Chinese stock meter closed at its lowest level since May 2016.
Elsewhere, rising market shares fell for the third day in a row, and the benchmark index was a one-year low. The risk aversion also hit cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin fell to $ 56,000.
Border controls
First detected in South Africa a week ago, Omicron is known to have spread to more than a dozen countries, and many tightened border controls to try not to repeat last year’s severe blockades and severe economic downturns.
The first southern travelers to identify the virus highlighted the disparity in the distribution of the vaccine, which could give them more global limits on the possibility of mutating the virus.
“African people cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccines available in Africa, and should not be punished for identifying and sharing crucial science and health information with the world,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The European passenger ship docked in Cape Town on Tuesday as the pandemic was to mark the official start of the first cruise ship season at South Africa’s main tourist site.
After finding that Omicron was at sea, many passengers were expected to fly straight home.
India, home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has accepted the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to many African countries and said it is ready to ship more “quickly”. China has also promised a billion doses to the continent.
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