① The second case of human infection with bird flu has appeared in the US, indicating that the H1N5 bird flu virus is raging like crazy in the US. ② Although the US health department still emphasizes that the threat of the virus to public health and safety is limited, the US stock market still reacted strongly, and many vaccine stocks surged by double digits on Wednesday.
Financial Services Association, May 23 (Editor Liu Rui) On Wednesday EST, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a farm worker in Michigan tested positive for bird flu. This is the second case of human infection with bird flu in the US, indicating that the H1N5 avian influenza virus is raging in the US like crazy.
Although the US health department still emphasizes that the threat of the virus to public health and safety is limited, the US stock market still reacted strongly, and many vaccine stocks surged by double digits on Wednesday.
Second case of human infection with bird flu appears in the US
The H5N1 virus is a known avian influenza virus that can spread between species, sometimes causing serious human cases. In late March of this year, a farm worker in Texas was infected with the virus due to exposure to sick cattle, making it the first human case of bird flu in the US. The patient had an eye infection with the H5N1 virus and received antiviral medication.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday EST, the US CDC said that another farm worker had mild eye symptoms after coming into contact with an infected cow and has now recovered.
Although US health officials insist that the risk to the public is still low because there is no human transmission, the US CDC also acknowledged that given the high content of the virus in unpasteurized raw milk and the extent of transmission through dairy cows, more cases may be detected in humans.
As of late Wednesday, 52 cows in 9 US states had tested positive for bird flu, according to a report from the US Department of Agriculture.
Multiple vaccine stocks soared
Although US health officials have minimized the impact of bird flu on humans, the response from the capital market is clearly much greater.
Many US vaccine stocks surged on Wednesday. Among them, we were also able to see quite a few “old acquaintances” who were highly sought after during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of biopharmaceutical company CureVac NV rose 18.84% on Wednesday, and the company claims its avian flu vaccine is in the early stages of testing.
CureVac NV stock price trend over the past six months
Novavax Inc. signed a license agreement with Sanofi two weeks ago and revealed its plans to explore an avian flu vaccine, and the stock has been soaring ever since. On Wednesday EST, the stock surged nearly 16% intraday, but eventually regained most of its gains and finally closed up 5.3%, the highest level since December 2022.
Novavax Inc. stock price trend over the past six months
O'Connell, head of the US Department of Health's “Strategic Preparedness and Response Administration,” told reporters that the US is already in negotiations with Moderna (Moderna) and Pfizer to develop an RNA avian influenza vaccine.
Modena said in a statement that Modena's vaccine is in the early stages of testing, and results are expected soon. The stock closed up nearly 14% on Wednesday, and Pfizer shares closed up 3.6%.
Modena's stock price trend over the past six months
Furthermore, BioNTech SE closed up 11.11%.
BioNTech SE stock price trend over the past six months
Mizuho healthcare industry expert Jared Holz (Jared Holz) said, “Avian influenza has added momentum to stocks that have already risen. A large part of this is probably just macro-factors — behind these headlines linking the avian flu problem to vaccine stocks, there are more deals for retail investors.”
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks such as the Ebola virus and monkeypox virus have also caused similar stock market fluctuations in recent years. For smaller companies in particular, once they pop up to advertise their vaccine or treatment plans, they can achieve strong stock price increases.
However, although retail investors are keen to find stocks that benefit from the pandemic, there are probably only a few vaccine stocks that can actually achieve an outbreak of performance from the pandemic in the end. And for well-known vaccine stocks like Moderna or BioNTech, these pandemics can have even less impact on performance.
Holtz believes that the reaction of US stocks so far has been “quite extreme.” He recommended selling at a high price because it is currently unclear whether bird flu will continue to spread among humans or have any impact on revenue.