Last week, Pfizer announced that the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine was 90%. The company will apply for a license to launch in the second half of November this year. This information made US and global stocks soar. However, the American press has a more realistic view.
No one can deny that vaccines are the key to reopening the economy, so as soon as the Pfizer vaccine news was released, CNBC said “Vaccine positive information provides much-needed impetus for the economic outlook.”
According to the article, this information provides the expectation that the COVID-19 nightmare, if not an end, will also reduce its carnage. This is beneficial for the US economy, as economic activities will return to normal sooner.
However, some economists are skeptical that the impact of the vaccine on the economy will be less than expected. Mark Zandi – chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said the pandemic will continue to cause difficulties for businesses for at least 2 to 3 months.
Not only that, the Pfizer vaccine must be kept in a temperature of minus 70 degrees C, requiring certain preparation of suitable storage and transporting equipment.
Staff in health facilities also need to be trained to ensure that those who get the first shot return to the second one four weeks later. The most important thing is to convince people to be vaccinated amid the still strong vaccination boycott.
The Wall Street Journal reported that even with approval in November, by the end of this year, Pfizer could only produce up to 50 million doses of vaccine. And from 2021 it is about 1.3 billion doses per year, far less than global demand, not to mention how much of that will be delivered in the US. Therefore, the state governments cannot immediately remove all restrictions. And so, the recovery of the US economy will still take time.