By
Steve Muchoki
April 16th, 2024
Pfizer becomes the first drugmaker to receive full-fledged approval from the US FDA. The approval will help people to gain confidence and especially businesses to drive growth ahead.
On Monday, August 23, the US Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. This is also the first vaccine in the US to get complete approval from the FDA.
As a result, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be administered at schools, businesses, and universities. So far, the mRNA vaccine from Pfizer had the approval for emergency use. The data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Pfizer has administered over 200 million shots. In a statement on Monday, August 23, FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said:
Pfizer’s vaccine met the agency’s “high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated.”
Interestingly, the recent approval has brought back optimism on Wall Street. All of the top three U.S. indices were up by 0.6-1.5% on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) jumped 215 points giving a closing at 35,335 levels.
Similarly, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) gained 0.85% closing at 4479 levels. On the other hand, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) surged 1.55% closing at 14,942 levels.
The Pentagon is keen to making vaccinations mandatory for service members by mid-September. Currently, Pfizer is also administering the vaccine for emergency use in children age between 12-15 years. Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, said:
“Currently, there are still trials ongoing and so the agency has to wait for the company to submit the data for those trials. We certainly want to make sure that we get it right.”
He further asked not to pay attention to the ongoing rumors in the market.
Wall Street Back to Optimism
After last week’s correction, Wall Street has started riding on optimism once again. On Monday, all vaccine-making companies posted good gains. The Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) stock (NYSE: PFE) surged 2.48%, while BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) stock surged a whopping 9.58%.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock also surged 7.55%. Trillium Therapeutics (TSE: TRIL) surged a staggering 184% on rumors of Pfizer planning an acquisition.
Other sectors like travel and leisure reacted positively to the news. Both Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and American Airlines Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) surged by 2.8% and 3.3% respectively. Carnival shares were up by 3.9% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NCLH) surged by 4.2%.
Energy stocks rallied along with the oil price surging on Monday. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance believes the impact of the FDA approval to the Pfizer vaccine won’t be immediate. To see the results, the US has to reach herd immunity and it will take a while. He further added:
“To the extent that the general public becomes more comfortable living with the virus, the economy is likely to continue on its upward trajectory. The economic recovery is what is driving corporate earnings and the stock market to all-time highs, and we expect that to continue through 2021 and into 2022″.
Zaccarelli believes retail companies and consumer discretionary will most like benefit from the approval. The markets have been under pressure recently over the Fed’s decision to dial back its bond-buying program.