Moderna, Pfizer stocks fall as Covid omicron wave subsides in U.S.

Shares of the major Covid vaccine makers fell on Monday, as the unprecedented wave of omicron infections eased, with new cases rapidly dropping across the country.

$Moderna (MRNA.US)$ plunged more than 11%, the biggest decline in the S&P 500 Monday. $Pfizer (PFE.US)$ tumbled nearly 2% and its partner $BioNTech (BNTX.US)$ slid more than 9%, while $Novavax (NVAX.US)$ was off more than 11% and $Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US)$ fell over 1%.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Financial Times last week that the U.S. is exiting the "full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19."

The U.S. reported a seven-day average of about 175,000 new Covid cases per day as of Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, down 42% over the past week. Reported cases hit a pandemic high of more than 800,000 per day, on average, on Jan. 15. $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$