with increased testing for specific international arrivals this illustration shows the omicron variant compared to the delta strain notice how many more mutations it has it turns out it was on the move earlier than we thought the first known cases reported in botswana on november 11th officials in the netherlands also say the strain was apparently already in the country at least a week earlier than previously believed. still, u.s. officials say it could be two weeks before we have more solid information as americans prepare for the holidays i would not change any plans, but that doesn t mean you should be cavalier about it reporter: today, stocks tumbled again the dow dropping more than 650 points. the recent rise in covid-19 cases and the emergence of the omicron variant pose downside risks to the employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. reporter: concerns are growing about the effectiveness of therapies and vaccines against the variant. regene
as americans prepare for the holidays. i would not change any plans, but that doesn t mean you should be cavalier about it. reporter: stocks tumbled again. the dow dropping more than 650 points. the recent rise in covid-19 cases and the emergence of the omicron variant pose downside risks to the employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. reporter: concerns are growing about the effectiveness of therapies and vaccines against the variant. regeneron says its monoclonal antibody treatment may not work as well on omicron as it does on other strains. we started with potent antibodies. we have to look at how much the hit is. more importantly, we have to get ready for the next one. reporter: moderna s ceo warns he expects a material drop in existing vaccines protection against omicron. pfizer applied for the first emergency use authorization of covid boosters for 16 and 17-year-olds. there s no timeline on when the fda could act. let s bring in wh
omicron variant pose downside risks to the employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. greater concerns about the virus could reduce people s willingness to work in-person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply chain disruptions. reporter: so, three main risks there. inflation, worker shortage, and the supply chain. those are the things that investors are most concerned about, but we do need to stress that these are just risks at this point. we don t know enough to say exactly what the impact s going to be on the economy. that s going to really depend on how contagious this new variant is, how effective vaccines are, and also how severe the symptoms are. now, the other interesting thing is that jerome powell, he kind of threw wall street a curve ball today. he said, and these comments actually sent stocks to session lows, he said that he thinks the fed should seriously consider unwinding their emergency bond-buying stimulus p
cases and the emergence of the omicron variant pose downside risks to the employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. greater concerns about the virus could reduce people s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply chain disruptions. we re going to have a look at how inflation and supply chain issues are impacting food insecurity and food banks later this hour. still ahead, we now know former trump chief of staff mark meadows is cooperating at least somewhat with the january 6 committee. what that could mean for the investigation and how much is he cooperating? you re watching meet the press daily. we ll tell you after the break. daily. we ll tell you after the break
variant. treasury secretary january net yellen talks about how we don t know enough information yet to assess what the real risk is to the economy, but she said the best protection is for people to get vaccinated and to take their booster shots. jerome powell, chairman of the federal reserve, he did address some of the risks facing the economy. here s what he had to say. the recent rise in covid-19 cases and the emergence of the omicron variant pose downside risks to the employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. reporter: increased uncertainty for information, worries about slower job growth, slower economic activity. he talked about how supply chain issues could get worse before getting better. on the stock market, the dow hit session lows, down about 530 points, 1.5%. the market is reacting to some