The ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is up more than 2% today on potential COVID-19 vaccine news.
What has happened?
According to reporting by international media
, US business Moderna has announced that a vaccine may be able to help people’s immune system fight COVID-19.
Apparently antibodies were found in the first eight people who took part in the safety trials. The people’s immunity response was similar to people with the actual coronavirus.
The vaccine trial was run by the US government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Though testing for the antibodies has only taken place in the first eight out of 45 people in the trial.
People in the trail took either a high, medium or low dose. The highest dose apparently had the highest side effects.
A large trial is expected to take place in July and work is being done on how to manufacture large amounts of the vaccine.
What did share markets do?
At the time of writing the ASX 200 is up more than 2%. Overnight we saw the S&P 500 rose by over 3%. The (UK) FTSE 250 increased by 3.6%. The Moderna share price jumped 20%.
There’s a long way to go before a vaccine can be safely approved for public. And then there’s the current manufacturing constraints. But it could be promising for getting life back to normal. Whatever happens with the vaccine, I think technology shares could be the way to go for most portfolios.
[ls_content_block id=”18457″ para=”paragraphs”]
Disclosure: at the time of publishing, Jaz does not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned.
