US health official Fauci ‘cautiously optimistic’ about coronavirus vaccine – WSJ

Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), stays ‘cautiously optimistic’ concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19) while speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) Tech Health Conference.

Key quotes

Anthony Fauci, a leading expert in the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday that several successful vaccine candidates would prove effective 'within a reasonable period of time' to fight the novel pathogen.

But how long the protection from an eventual vaccine might last is 'a big unknown,' he said via remote video during The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Health Conference. A short duration of protection could create additional challenges, he said.

FX implications

The news should ideally help the market’s risk-tone but the previous news shared by NBC, suggesting lesser importance of the Coronavirus Task Force Team, seemed to weigh on trading sentiment. As a result, S&P 500 Futures drop 0.10% to 3,075 amid the early Wednesday morning in Asia.