COVID-19 vaccine stocks are all retreating sharply for a second day running on Friday.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against President Joe Biden’s quest to make it mandatory for large businesses employing over 100 people to have their staff vaccinated and undergo weekly testing. The mandate is a significant encroachment on the lives and health of a vast number of employers, the court said.
The court, however, permitted the vaccine mandate for health care workers in facilities which receive government funding.
President Biden expressed disappointment at the verdict and said “he was disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law.”
Novavax Inc., specifically, has been the hardest hit, given the delay in getting authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and Europe.
Investors are also worried about how far out the vaccine windfall can support these companies. With the Omicron variant proving to be highly infectious, there is a view among the scientific community, herd immunity could soon be reached, bringing the pandemic to an end.
At last check, Moderna, Inc. shares were down 2.59 percent at $204.73.
BioNTech SE was slipping 3.44 percent at $196.00.
Pfizer Inc. shares were moving down 1.08 percent to $54.94.
Novavax was down 1.39 percent to $110.82.
Johnson & Johnson was receding 0.56 percent to $167.81.
