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A nurse holds a vial of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
Clement Mahudou/AFP via Getty Images
Moderna
CEO Stefan Bancel has indicated that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic is imminent.
When asked in an interview if the virus is nearing the final stages of the pandemic, Bancel said, “I think that’s a reasonable scenario.”
And he repeated in the interview that the virus will remain with humans forever, like influenza Squawk Box Asia on CNBC, He added, “I think there’s an 80% chance that as Omicron develops or SarsCov-2 evolves, we’ll see less virulent viruses.”
Bancel warned that there is a 20% scenario in which a new mutation could be more virulent than Omicron.
Bancel’s predictions seem to match the growing consensus among health experts. He echoes comments made by Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, to the Financial Times last week, in which he said:full pandemic phase“It ends.
It’s good news if he’s right, but not great for Moderna (stock ticker: MRNA) shares Wednesday. Its shares fell 2.6% in pre-market trading.
Separately, Moderna has partnered with the UK’s National Institute for Health Research to launch a new trial of the Omicron booster vaccine, According to the Syndicate of Journalists News.
More than 3,000 volunteers are being recruited to participate in the study, which will test one of the first shots of dealing with the variable.
Write to Robert Steiner at [email protected]
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