As St phane Bancel said he was worried that vaccine resistance could lead to more sickness and hospitalizations, the Australian currency hit a year low, and Nikkei gave up gains. We apologize, but this video didn't load.
Click here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser or Moderna CEO, or warns that COVID 19 shots are less effective against Omicron and stock markets are spooked U.S. futures fell sharply on the news. S&P 500 e-minis were down 49.75 points, or 1.07 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 89 points, or 0.54 per cent, and Dow was down 458 points, or 1.31 per cent.
Moderna CEO Bancel said in an interview that there is no world where the effectiveness is the same as we had with Delta. I think it is going to be a material drop. I don't know how much data we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I talked to are like this is not going to be good, according to Bancel.
Bancel had earlier stated on CNBC that there should be more clarity on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron in about two weeks, and that it could take months to ship a vaccine that works against the new variant. The WHO and scientists said it could take days to a few weeks to understand the severity of the variant and its potential to escape protection against immunity induced by vaccines. John Wherry, the director of the Penn Institute for Immunology in Philadelphia, said he believes that if you stay out of the hospital, vaccineation will likely keep you out of the hospital.
The uncertainty about the new variant has caused global alarm, with border closures casting doubt on a nascent economic recovery from a two-year epidemic. We apologize, but this video didn't load.
Here you can see other videos from our team. On Friday, a refreshing of your browser, or News of its emergence wiped out roughly US $2 trillion off the value of global stocks, but some calm was restored this week as investors waited for more data on Omicron. President Joe Biden said that the United States would not reinstate lockdowns and soothed markets before comments from the Moderna CEO spooked investors. Biden has called for more vaccination, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged everyone aged 18 years and older to get a booster shot. Britain has expanded its COVID-19 booster program because of Omicron fears.
Omicron was first reported from South Africa on November 24. It has since spread to over a dozen countries. Japan, the world's third largest economy, confirmed its first case. Countries around the world have started tightening border controls in order to prevent a repeat of last year s strict economic downturns. Hong Kong has imposed a ban on entry for non-residents from several countries. It said non-residents from Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia wouldn't be allowed to enter until Nov. 30. It said non-residents who have been to Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Italy in the past 21 days would not be allowed to enter the city from December 2.
Non-residents arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe have been banned from the global financial hub, as a result of the zero-COVID strategy. There were five people who tested positive for Omicron in Australia. Singapore s health ministry said two travellers from Johannesburg who had tested positive for the variant in Sydney had passed through the Changi airport. Australian authorities also identified a sixth traveler who was most likely to have been infected with the variant and had spent time in the community. Canberra delayed the reopening of the nation's borders for international students and skilled migrants on Monday, less than 36 hours before they were due to be allowed back in.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said that we are doing this out of an abundance of caution, but our overwhelming view is that while Omicron is an emerging variant, it is a manageable variant. How omicron could affect the economy as the disease spread from Australia to Canada in a widening way?
WHO skipped Nu and Xi to avoid cultural offence in naming new variants. Global curbs on travellers from southern Africa raised concerns about vaccine inequality. The people of Africa are not to be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccine available in Africa, and they should not be penalized for sharing crucial science and health information with the world, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. India, home to the world's largest vaccine maker, has approved supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to many African countries and said it is ready to send more. China has pledged to send 1 billion doses to the continent.