By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Covid-19 related vaccine stocks have made gains Friday after concerns were raised about a new coronavirus variant in South Africa that is said to have several mutations.
With concerns being raised about the variant's potential ability to evade current vaccines, stocks such as Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA), Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO), Novavax Inc (NASDAQ:NVAX), Vir Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:VIR), and others have surged.
Pfizer shares rose 6%. Moderna rose 23%. Inovio rose more than 8%, while Novavax shares rose more than 9%. Vir rose 16%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 2%, or 850 points, in morning trading.
According to Reuters, BioNTech said it expects further data on the new variant within the next two weeks and that if necessary, it would be able to redesign the vaccine within 6 weeks and deliver batches within 100 days.
In certain European countries, a reintroduction of lockdown restrictions has already started, with cases rising once again. In addition, while some commentators have described the variant as the "most concerning" so far, it is important to note that not much is known about it just yet, with scientists still working to understand its implications.