Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell says vaccination efforts key to global economic recovery

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that confidence in resuming economic activity will depend on global coronavirus vaccination efforts as world leaders move forward with efforts to dig out of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Viruses are no respecters of borders, and until the world really is vaccinated, we're all going to be at risk of new mutations and we won't be able to really resume with confidence all around the world," Powell said. He called global vaccination efforts "not only the right thing to do, it's also the smart thing to do." Powell made the remarks while speaking on an International Monetary Fund panel about the global economy. As the United States moves toward normalizing Federal Reserve activity, Powell said they are keeping a close eye on vaccination progress around the world. It's a risk in the United States as well, he said, and even if another U.S. outbreak is not as deadly or economically damaging, it will slow the recovery.