JPMorgan health-care conference going virtual amid omicron fears

JPMorgan Chase made its healthcare conference virtual amid fears of the new omicron variant.

The 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, one of the biggest healthcare conferences in the world, was moved online, the company told participants on Wednesday.

“The health and safety of our clients and employees is of the utmost importance and given the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, we have made this decision,” the bank said in a statement. 

“We were not only hopeful to meet in-person but also understand how much this conference means to the San Francisco community, which we fully support,” it added.

The conference was set to take place at the Westin St. Francis from Jan. 10 to Jan. 13.

The conference was moved “out of an abundance of caution” as omicron has been reported in more than 30 states, including California.

It will now be streamed in Eastern Time online. JPMorgan is aiming to go back to San Francisco in 2023 for an in-person conference. 

The announcement comes after JPMorgan said unvaccinated employees at its Manhattan office now have to work from home.