Markets jolted as Moderna says its Covid shots weaker

The chief executive of drugmaker Moderna set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets on Tuesday with a warning that existing Covid-19 vaccines would be less effective against the Omicron variant than they have been against the Delta variant.

Major European stock markets fell around 1.5 per cent in early trade, Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed down 1.6 per cent, crude oil futures shed more than 3 per cent, and the Australian dollar hit a one-year low as Stephane Bancel’s comments spurred fears that vaccine resistance may prolong the pandemic.

“There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level . . . we had with Delta,” Bancel told the Financial Times.

“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to . . . are like ‘this is not going to be good’,” Bancel said.

Balancing that, however, European Medicines Agency (EMA) executive director Emer Cooke told the European Parliament that even if the new variant becomes more widespread, existing vaccines will continue to provide protection.

Moderna did not reply to a Reuters request for comment, or say when it expects to have data on the effectiveness of its vaccine on Omicron, which the World Health Organization (WHO) says carries a very high risk of infection surges.