Market Responds Positively to Vaccine Candidate Test Results

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

A teacher observes students as they wash their hands before face-to-face activities on the first day of in-person instruction at SMP Negeri 7 state junior high school Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Monday (16/11/2020). After almost nine months of distance learning carried out online, four SMPNs in Banjarmasin began to hold face-to-face instruction under Covid-19 prevention health protocols.

Promising results from the tests of vaccine candidates developed by Moderna Inc and Pfizer have sparked positive responses in the Asian and European markets, giving way to optimism.

WASHINGTON, TUESDAY — The global market welcomes good news from two leading vaccine producers, Moderna Inc and Pfizer. The two producers have stated that the vaccine candidates they are developing are 90 to 94.5 percent effective against COVID-19.

Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech claimed that their vaccine candidate was 90 percent effective. This was then followed by news from Moderna Inc early this week that their vaccine candidate had an efficacy of up to 95 percent in preventing infections.

Such news has been positively received by investors. Apart from boosting the value of Modena Inc’s shares to 9.6 percent, the good news also prompted Asian stocks to move tentatively into record territory on Tuesday (17/11/2020).

Also read: Regional Heads Warned Again About Health Protocols

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.17 percent, with the previous day reaching its highest level since the index was launched in 1987. The World Index of global stocks also hit a record high on Monday and continues to rise in the Asian session.

Positive responses were not only observed in the Asian market. European stock markets on Monday (16/11) also closed at their highest level in eight months.

The euro currency strengthened against the US dollar and the Chinese yuan also reached its highest level against the US dollar since June 2018.

News about vaccine candidates have increased investors’ confidence in accelerating recovery of battered economies caused by the pandemic. Moreover, other factors indicating Asia’s recovery has contributed to the optimism. The euro currency strengthened against the US dollar and the Chinese yuan also reached its highest level against the US dollar since June 2018.

End of the tunnel

HSBC equity strategy head for the Asian Pacific region, Herald van der Line, said that the presence of a vaccine indicates that the market will soon return to normal. “The market assumes that we can soon see the end of the tunnel because by 2022, a large portion of the world’s population will have access to vaccines,” said Van der Linde.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

=Students buy food before participating in face-to-face activities at their school , SDN 2 state elementary school Tlogolele, Tlogolele village, Selo, Boyolali, Central Java, Monday (16/11/2020). The school, which is located within a radius of five kilometers from the top of Mount Merapi, holds the face-to-face activities for one hour per day where several students take turns for the distribution and collection of school assignments. This was done to help students who did not own gadgets.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, explained that more and more pharmaceutical companies are announcing optimistic results about the efficacy of the vaccine candidate they are studying, which have invited positive responses from both the market and investors. “Investors can now see a way out of the pandemic. For economic activity, this is like returning to the normal rhythm of life,” he said.

Discipline

The COVID-19 handling task force reiterated that Indonesia is open to any vaccine candidate. Task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said the government was careful and strict in deciding which COVID-19 vaccine to procure.

“The COVID-19 vaccine must be suitable for the characteristics of Indonesians and also consider supporting facilities in the country, such as cold chain storage,” said Wiku in a press statement at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, broadcasted on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.

Vaccine candidates must also be screened by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), which will also consider the results of scientific studies.

Vaccines to be used in Indonesia must first pass clinical trial phases 1, 2 and 3. Only afterwards can an emergency use authorization (EUA) be obtained from the BPOM.

Also read: Vaccination Won’t Ignore Health Standards

However, prior to the availability of a vaccine, Wiku reminded the public to remain disciplined in implementing health protocols, either at the individual, community or corporate level. This step is still necessary to reduce transmission of the virus.

“This will serve as our capital to kickstart economic activities. Let us remain disciplined in implementing health protocols,” said Wiku.

According to him, the number of positive COVID-19 cases nationwide, which is still significantly on the rise, was a less encouraging sign. Sudden increases were observed following a long holiday at the end of October.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A resident passes in front of a mural about an appeal for the health protocols in Tebet, South Jakarta, Monday (16/11/2020). Data from the Covid-19 Mitigation Task Force on Monday recorded 3,535 new cases of patients tested positive with Covid-19. From this data, Jakarta is included in the five provinces with the highest addition of new cases, namely 1,006 new cases.

Wiku said that nationally, COVID-19 cases increased by 17.8 percent this week. This increase is considered quite significant because the weekly increase usually ranges between 5 to 8 percent.

Increases in positive cases in the top five provinces have also been drastic. In the previous week, Central Java saw the highest weekly increase with 919 cases. This week, however, Central Java saw an increase of 2,377 cases. West Java and Jakarta then follow as the provinces with the highest weekly increase in cases, apart from Banten and Lampung.

After the holiday, on November 4-10, the percentages jumped to 17.4 percent and 16.31 percent in Central and West Java respectively.

The percentage of positive cases in Central Java and West Java also appear to have increased following the long weekend at the end of October. Prior to the long holiday, namely October 21-27, Central Java recorded positive cases of 13.53 percent, while West Java recorded 15.14 percent. After the holiday, on November 4-10, the percentages jumped to 17.4 percent and 16.31 percent in Central and West Java respectively.

Also read: Evaluate Categories of Health Protocol Violations

Meanwhile, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto stated that the government had paid Rp 507 billion out of the total Rp 633 billion as down payment for the procurement of vaccines developed by China-based Sinovac. Based on a study, the vaccine unit price is estimated at Rp 211,282.

This was conveyed by Terawan at a meeting held by the Health Ministry, the BPOM, the COVID-19 handling and economic recovery committee as well as House of Representatives Commission IX on Tuesday, in Jakarta.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A resident caught not wearing a face mask sweeps the street as part of sanctions imposed during Operation Yustisi at the border between Bekasi city and Jakarta on Jalan Raya Kalimalang, Pondok Kelapa, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, Tuesday (17/11/2020). Public awareness regarding the dangers of the transmission of the new type of coronavirus and collective safety is still low. As of Nov. 16, 2020, there were 119,633 confirmed cases in Jakarta, with 6,957 patients still undergoing treatment or independent isolation, while 2,455 people died. The percentage of confirmed cases in Jakarta is 9.9 percent, still higher than the safe limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO), namely 5 percent.

Terawan said that until now, no vaccine is ready and available to be administered to the people. The most certain vaccine to be procured is the Sinovac vaccine candidate, which is also being tested by PT Bio Farma in Bandung. Other vaccine candidates must await official publication of the results of the clinical trials.

Health Ministry secretary-general Oscar Primadi said that the government had allocated a special budget for vaccine procurement. The budget requirement for vaccinations in 2020 is Rp 36,681,310,000, whereas the requirement for vaccinations in 2021 is Rp 1,328,291,054,000.