Wrapup 3: Moderna CEO warns COVID-19 shots less effective against Omicron , markets tumble

Sepc

30/11/2021 03:07

* Moderna CEO comments on Omicron spook markets
    * Hong Kong bans non-resident arrivals from more countries
    * Australia national cabinet to meet on Tuesday 
    * Singapore: 2 travellers to Sydney with Omicron transited
Changi
    * Biden says variant is 'cause for concern, not a cause for
panic'

    By Marius Zaharia and Renju Jose
    HONG KONG/SYDNEY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Moderna
 MRNA.O  set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets on
Tuesday as the firm's chief warned that COVID-19 vaccines are
unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they
have been against the Delta version.
    Crude oil futures  LCOC1   CLc1  shed more than a dollar,
the Australian currency hit a year low, and Nikkei gave up its
gains as Stéphane Bancel's comments spurred fears that vaccine
resistance could lead to more sickness and hospitalisations,
prolonging the pandemic.  MKTS/GLOB 
    "There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is
the same level . . . we had with Delta," Moderna CEO Bancel told
the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/27def1b9-b9c8-47a5-8e06-72e432e0838f
 in an interview.
    "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.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SL1GL
    Omicron - which the World Health Organization (WHO) said
carries a "very high" risk https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-poses-very-high-global-risk-countries-must-prepare-who-2021-11-29
 of infection surges - has triggered global alarm, with border
closures casting a shadow over a nascent economic recovery from
a two-year pandemic.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SK05V 
    News of its emergence wiped roughly $2 trillion off the
value of global stocks on Friday, although some calm was
restored this week as investors waited for more data on the
characteristics of Omicron.  MKTS/GLOB  FRX  O/R 
    Remarks by President Joe Biden that the United States would
not reinstate lockdowns had also helped soothe markets before
comments from the Moderna chief spooked investors.
    Biden has called for wider 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 too has
expanded its COVID-19 booster programme amid Omicron fears.
    
    HONG KONG EXPANDS CURBS
    Fear of the new variant has prompted countries around the
world to move quickly to tighten border controls to prevent a
recurrence of last year's strict lockdowns and steep economic
downturns.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SL04L
    Hong Kong authorities have expanded a ban on entry for
non-residents from several countries. It said non-residents from
Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia would not be allowed to
enter as of Nov. 30.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SL030
    Additionally, 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 Dec. 2, it added. 
    The global financial hub, among the last places pursuing a
zero-COVID strategy, has already banned non-residents arriving
from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. 
    In Australia, five travellers tested positive for Omicron.
    They are vaccinated and in quarantine, officials said,
adding they are asymptomatic or display very mild symptoms. 
    Singapore's health ministry said two travellers from
Johannesburg who tested positive for the variant in Sydney had
transited through its Changi https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/singapore-says-two-travellers-sydney-with-omicron-transited-changi-2021-11-30
 airport.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SL01J
    Australian authorities have also identified a sixth
traveller who was most likely infected with the variant and had
spent time in the community.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SK2QF urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SL014
    Canberra delayed on Monday the reopening of the nation's
borders for international students and skilled migrants, less
than 36 hours before they were due to be allowed back in. 
    "We're doing this out of an abundance of caution but our
overwhelming view is that whilst (Omicron) is an emerging
variant, it is a manageable variant," Federal Health Minister
Greg Hunt told a media conference.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SK2QF
    CURBS AND CONCERNS
    First reported on Nov. 24 from South Africa, Omicron has
since spread to over a dozen countries.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SK1YI
    The WHO has urged countries to use a "risk-based approach to
adjust international travel measures".
    The global curbs have, however, triggered concerns about
vaccine inequality.
    "The people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low
level of vaccinations available in Africa – and they should not
be penalized for identifying and sharing crucial science and
health information with the world," U.N. Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-chief-concerned-about-southern-africa-isolation-over-omicron-2021-11-29
 in a statement.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SK1F9
    India, home to the world's largest vaccine maker, has
approved supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to many African countries
and said it stands ready to "expeditiously" send more. China too
has pledged https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/chinas-xi-pledges-10-bln-credit-line-african-financial-institutions-2021-11-29
 1 billion doses to the continent.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SL18U

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FACTBOX-Global spread of Omicron cases and associated travel
curbs     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SK1YI
EXPLAINER-How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SH2D6
FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2KI0XB
OMICRON VARIANT MAP    https://tmsnrt.rs/3d2roti
The spread of COVID-19 variants of concern    https://tmsnrt.rs/3hYU08J
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong, Renju Jose in
Sydney, Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Reuters bureaus; Writing
by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Shri Navratnam)
 ((himani.sarkar@thomsonreuters.com))