Lagarde warns economy could face 'bumpy' recovery

European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde warned Wednesday that the economy could face a "bumpy," "stop-start" recovery despite good news about vaccine development.

The top central banker for the 19 EU countries that use the Euro currency said there was a risk that fearful consumers could drag out the rebound, and that governments and central banks will need policies that bridge the gap until vaccination is widespread.

She also said the recovery "may not be linear, but rather unsteady."

Stock markets jumped after Pfizer said Monday that early results from tests of its experimental vaccine suggesed it could be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19.

The European Commission has said it plans to secure up to 300 million doses of the drug developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Several experimental COVID-19 vaccines are in late stage testing, but none have so far been proven safe and effective enough to use broadly.