JAKARTADAILY.ID - The new coronavirus variant Omicron rocked the global market after Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said that he expects his company's vaccine to be less effective against it.
"There is no world, I guess, where [the effectiveness] is the same level ... we had with Delta," Bancel told the Financial Times. "I think it will be a material loss. I just don't know how much because we have to wait for the data. But all the scientists I've talked to ... are like 'it won't be good."
On Monday, Bancel further told CNBC that it could take months to develop and ship a vaccine that specifically targets the new variant.
Reuters reported Asia-Pacific stocks fell during trading on Tuesday, dragged down by 2.4 percent for South Korea's Kospi Index and 1.9 percent for Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. The Japanese Nikkei 225 also fell by 1.6 percent.
European stocks also fell on that same day at the open right after the market tried to start a rebound after Friday's strong global sell-off. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 1.2 percent during early trade. Dow Futures in the U.S. fell more than 400 points in early pre-market trading as well.
The World Health Organization has released a statement that designates Omicron as a "variant of concern" which poses a "very high" global risk and is likely to spread internationally. England's mask mandate returns today, while Hong Kong has extended an entry ban for non-residents from several countries, such as Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia, starting November 30.
