PFE - Vaccine makers light up as COVID hospitalizations rise

2023-08-21 13:53:35 ET

Despite sharp YTD declines, shares of COVID-19 vaccine makers traded higher on Monday as a newly-detected Omicron variant continued to gain ground amid a concurrent rise in COVID-related hospitalizations.

Notable gainers include Novavax ( NASDAQ: NVAX ), Moderna ( NASDAQ: MRNA ), and BioNTech ( NASDAQ: BNTX ). The COVID pill maker and BioNTech’s partner for the Comirnaty vaccine, Pfizer ( PFE ), and Merck ( MRK ), the co-developer of Lagevrio COVID-19 pill, recorded modest gains, as did Gilead ( GILD ), the company behind COVID anti-viral infusion Veklury.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the variant code-named EG.5 has accounted for an estimated 21% of total COVID infections for the week ending Aug. 19.

The strain, classified as a COVID variant of interest by the WHO, led to about ~17% of total cases about a month ago.

Meanwhile, week-over-week COVID-related hospitalizations have increased by ~14% as of Aug. 4, and deaths have risen by ~8% as of Aug. 12.

For the week ending July 29 , the increase in COVID hospitalizations stood at ~13% while deaths remained flat.

More on EG.5, COVID vaccine makers, etc.

• Moderna updated COVID-19 vaccine effective against Eris, Fornax variants
• Why did BioNTech stock go up today? Rising COVID rates
• Pfizer's Unexpected Strength: Bullish Case Emerges Amid New Covid-19 Wave
• Inside COVID-19 vaccine makers: Hope vs hype

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