According to Moderna’s CEO, vaccines are less effective against the omicron variant

Key Takeaways:

• “There is, I believe, no world in which (effectiveness) is at the same level Delta had with us, “In an interview with the Financial Times, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel stated.

On Tuesday, the CEO of drugmaker Moderna raised new concerns in financial markets by stating that Covid-19 vaccines were incredible to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they had been against the Delta variant.

Crude oil futures dropped more than a dollar. The Australian dollar fell to a year low. The Nikkei lost ground as Stéphane Bancel’s comments fueled fears that vaccine resistance would lead to more sickness, prolonging and hospitalizations the pandemic.

“I don’t believe there is a world where (effectiveness) is at the same level that we had with Delta,” CEO Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview.

“I believe it will be a material drop. I’m just not sure how much because we have to wait for the data. But every scientist I’ve talked to says, ‘This isn’t going to be good.’ “Bancel stated.

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Moderna did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the interview or when it expects to have a list on the effectiveness of its vaccine against Omicron, which the WHO describes as having a “very high” risk of infection surges.

Bancel earlier noted on news that more clarity on the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines against Omicron should be available in about two weeks. It could take months to start shipping a vaccine that works against the new variant.

The WHO and scientists have also stated that determining the severity of the variant and its ability to evade vaccine-induced immunity could take several days to several weeks.

“Vaccination will almost certainly keep you out of the hospital,” says John Wherry, the Penn Institute for Immunology director in Philadelphia.

The uncertainty surrounding the new variant has sparked global concern, with border closures casting a shadow over the world’s nascent economic recovery from a two-year pandemic.

Source: Hindustantimes News