On September 12, the CDC's vaccines advisory committee planned a meeting this week about COVID vaccine mortality in children.
The CDC will receive a presentation that correlates 25 child deaths to the vaccine. Shares of Pfizer (PFE), BioNTech (BNTX), Novavax (NVAX), and Moderna (MRNA) all fell last Friday in response.
Investors should consider avoiding Pfizer. The firm did not succeed in reinvesting the profits earned from its COVID sales during the pandemic. In addition, it withdrew its efforts in the obesity drug market. This lets Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) increase the profit margins in that space.
BioNTech has a better pipeline than Novavax and Moderna. The latter two firms rely on annual or seasonal COVID vaccine sales. However, sales of COVID vaccines are on the decline, while RSV demand is not gaining traction.
BioNTech has a deep drug pipeline. It has two pan-tumor priority programs. It also has 20+ products in phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials in oncology. The firm invested EUR 2.25 billion in research and development in 2024. That should result in product launches in the future.
Your Takeaway
The CDC may have trouble tying the 25 deaths in children to the COVID vaccine. Still, public perception of the vaccine will worsen, hurting sales. The public will overlook the millions of lives saved from the early strains.
