AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) gets in the news almost every day. The negative coverage on its COVID-19 vaccine will continue to weigh on its share price while its competitors shine.
Last week, Germany restricted AZN’s vaccine for people under the age of 60. The country reported 31 rare blood clots in younger people after vaccination. At 2.7 million doses administered, the 31 cases last year are not statistically significant. Still, the public perception of AZN is negative. Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) do not get the same negative reports.
So far, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)-BNTX administered 75.4 million doses in the U.S. Moderna administered 68.8 million while J&J’s 3.2 million is almost negligible. The U.S. is sharing four million doses to Canada and Mexico in loan deals. It is exporting them because the government said it is not getting used.
AZN’s vaccine will likely dominate the total global vaccinations. It is easy to transport as it does not need low temperatures like that of BNTX or MRNA. The doses also cost substantially less.
AZN will have a perception problem that it must manage in the near term. It must improve the safety profile of the vaccine through studies and data review. Until that happens, people may opt not to take its AZN vaccine at all.