Shares of healthcare companies slipped as Covid-19 remained in focus.
President Biden stepped up his vaccination push as cases reported in the U.S. rose to new records, saying unvaccinated people would suffer the worst of the Omicron-driven surge in infections. The development came as the U.K. national statistics agency estimated that one in 15 people in England had Covid-19 in the last week of December. The government there said it would try to ride out a record wave of infections without further restrictions.
Hong Kong is banning passenger flights from eight countries, including the U.S., for two weeks, closing bars and banning evening dine-in after the city's first community Omicron infections punctured one of the world's strictest and most effective border controls.
Meanwhile, vaccine experts advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting to consider whether 12- to 15-years-olds should gain access to Covid-19 boosters for the first time.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-05-22 1711ET
