Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the news about the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine is positive for the US economy in the medium term. Economic growth directly depends on success in the fight against the virus. But it is extremely difficult to say when this will happen.
There is one more point. There will be no full recovery until it is safe to resume the full range of activities.
The vaccine proved to be 100% effective in severe cases. Amid this news, Moderna shares at the premarket rose by 12%.
The vaccine was tested on 30,000 US volunteers. 196 of them became infected. 30 people suffered from the disease in serious condition. Unfortunately, one person died. However, death and all cases of serious illness happened in the group that received a placebo, not the actual vaccine, Moderna said. Among those who received the placebo, only 185 people were infected with the virus, and 11 people were among vaccinated ones.
The company noted that the vaccine is effective regardless of age, race or gender. The side effects are minimal - fatigue, muscle aches, and headaches.
The company intends to use a vaccine created with experimental mRNA technology, so it has requested approval from the FDA for its use. On December 17, the medical regulator will consider the application at a meeting of the advisory committee.
The company has already sought approval for the vaccine from regulators all over the world, including the European Medicines Agency.
According to Johns Hopkins University, since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 13 million cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in the United States, while more than 266 thousand people died. More than 5 million people have recovered.
According to some reports, the European Union is going to buy 80 million doses of Moderna vaccine, and the UK will order 7 million. The US is the largest buyer of the drug: they have pre-ordered 500 million doses.
Markets are still euphoric amid good news about the vaccine. Many traders are confident that after the vaccination, the world economy will begin to recover.