Enough Jabs, But Not Enough People?
The United States vaccination plan has been successful in the last few months. So good, in fact, that Joe Biden had to increase his 100-day goal to 200 million vaccinations. Even then, Biden is on track to crush that also, leaving the US in an awesome spot to achieve herd immunity. Unfortunately, to get there, 70 percent of the population needs to be fully vaccinated. The push for that will be the hardest yet, as there are many variables that are in play.
Our main challenge is the rest of the population that needs to get vaccinated. While most people who wanted to get vaccinated got their shots, others are resisting. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that in 1 to 2 weeks, vaccine enthusiasm will likely run out. With one-fifth of Americans already deciding not to take the vaccine, the margin of error is very low. Convincing those who haven’t taken it due to suspicions is a tough task; after all, the news about blood clots did nothing to change their minds. However, it is important that we know that those are extremely rare cases, and these vaccines are truly safe.
Unfortunately, if vaccination numbers fall, any progress we’ve made could possibly vanish. Coronavirus variants are on the rise, which is a major issue. For example, the new Indian coronavirus variant has India on its second wave, and a deadly one to be exact. If we give the coronavirus more time, deadly and infectious variants can pop up which leads to a worldwide surge in cases. This is included with the fact that immunity wears off, so we can become easily susceptible in the future.
The impact on the markets? Well, it would certainly be devastating. For the last year, the markets have been pricing in a V-shaped recovery and future growth ahead. We have seen coronavirus scares, but they haven’t interrupted the recovery of the economy. If something very serious happens where lockdowns are the only option, it wouldn’t be crazy for the indices to fall in a bear market. What do you think? To put this terrible past year behind us, we need to promote our revolutionary vaccines, to hopefully return to a world of normalcy.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
