01:39 PM EDT, 04/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were falling Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index dropping 4.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 3.7%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) slumped 5.5%.

In corporate news, Novavax ( NVAX ) shares tumbled 23% after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. raised doubts about the effectiveness of the company's Covid-19 vaccine. Novavax's ( NVAX ) Nuvaxovid Covid-19 vaccine is available under conditional approval and is awaiting full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, which was expected by April 1, Bloomberg reported.