Coronavirus vaccine: France, China eye vaccination starting by year-end

Amid expectations of the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccine globally, French President Emmanuel Macron said the covid vaccinations could start being administered as soon as the end of the year in the country if approved by regulators.

“We will very likely, and pending authorization by health authorities, start vaccination of the most vulnerable populations, hence the elderly, as soon as the end of December, early January,” President Macron said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Global Times reported that “it is possible for China to approve a vaccine by the end of this year to meet the urgent need of some countries severely hit by the epidemic,” citing some experts.

Promising results from vaccine trials is boosting the global market sentiment, as investors remain hopeful that life could return to normalcy in 2021 while anticipating a swifter economic rebound.

AstraZeneca on Monday said its COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective in trials and could be up to 90% effective while Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s covid vaccine showed over 90% efficacy.

Market reaction

S&P 500 futures trade close to two-week highs of 3,641, almost unchanged on the day. The bulls take a breather after the solid surge so far this week amid vaccine optimism and Biden transition.