Moderna's Stock Drops As Flu Vaccine Trial Fails

Moderna has developed a flu shot that uses the same mRNA technology as Moderna's COVID vaccine that detects influenza virus

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The stock price of Moderna Inc. has dropped 5% this week after the vaccine maker's REVID vaccine failed to meet one of its goals and reported mixed results in the trial of a flu vaccine candidate, which uses the same technology as COVID.

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It was done at the beginning of the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere that 6,102 adults aged 18 or older were recruited across Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Panama, and the Philippines to participate in the Phase 3 trial.

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Despite the fact that we did not succeed at achieving non-inferiority for Influenza B strains that tend to affect younger populations, we have already improved the vaccine which may increase immunity against Influenza B. A new clinical study will be conducted in a few months to confirm those improvements, as we are using our mRNA platform to confirm these improvements as soon as possible,” President Stephen Hoge of Moderna mRNA, -4.71% said in his statement.

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One of the five flu-vaccine candidates that Moderna is currently reviewing is the candidate for a vaccine to prevent the flu.

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Following President Joe Biden's announcement that the public health emergency would be over in May, the company said it would remain available and free of charge for people in the United States.

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A proposal for a price increase for the vaccine was made public after Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called on Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel to testify.

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During the past seven days, a record number of new cases of COVID have been reported, showing a continued decline in the disease. In the last two weeks, the number of jobs opened is down 9% from 37,755, according to data reported by the Trade Algo. Hospitalizations on a daily average decreased by 8% to 28,795, a drop of 8% from the previous day. Compared to two weeks ago, there were no more than 398 deaths on average, a decrease of 14%.

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Based on the numbers we have, here is what we have to say:

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According to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, worldwide COVID-19 cases topped 673.7 million on Tuesday as well as a death toll above 6.86 million, bringing the global tally for confirmed cases to over 1 billion, according to the university's news release.

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103 million cases of hepatitis A have been reported in the United States and 1,117,113 deaths have been reported.

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According to the CDC’s tracker, 229.8 million Americans, or 69.2% of the total population, have been vaccinated fully in the past year. A fully vaccinated person has had their primary vaccination, meaning they are up-to-date with their vaccines.

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The updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and its variant, omicron infection, has so far been administered only to 52.5 million Americans, which is equal to 15.8% of the total population.