(FT) The European Stoxx 600 share index, Germany’s Dax, and the UK’s FTSE 100 plunged about 1.3% on Tuesday after Moderna CEO said existing vaccines could struggle with the Omicron variant.
Stéphane Bancel says pharmaceutical firms may take months before developing a new variant-specific vaccine.
Bancel says investors’ worry comes from the fact they thought a highly mutant Covid-19 variant would not emerge in up to two years.
Pfizer director and former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb had initially raised optimism after saying that there is some confidence that up to three doses of vaccine circles could offer protection against the variant.
Moderna and Pfizer have said they are working on a vaccine targeting the Omicron variant, which could be ready next year. They have advised offering boosters to the immune-compromised people and the elderly in the meantime.
Chief economist at the Bank of Singapore Mansoor Mohi-uddin says although investors are not pricing on the Omicron variant, it would take weeks before they get a clear picture.
Global markets react. SPY is down -0.98% on premarket, DAX is down -1.41%, CSI 300 is down -0.40%
