Pfizer says South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection

A Reuters piece from earlier is taking up some of the news wires in financial markets as the implications are certainly a potential blow for risk appetite.

The article explained that a laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds.

The news explained that it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation.

''Moderna also said the actual efficacy of its vaccine against the South African variant is yet to be determined. The company has previously said it believes the vaccine will work against the variant.''

The article was published a few hours ago but is only just starting to rank on social media, so it may have limited impact in forex if it has already been priced in. 

The article's headline is also in stark contrast to that of other news agencies that seemed to be reporting on the same lab test, such as a CNN article with a headline ''Lab studies suggest Pfizer, Moderna vaccines can protect against coronavirus variant''.

''A new report published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday suggests that Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine can protect people against concerning new coronavirus variants, including one first seen in South Africa called B.1.351.''

Market implications

Nevertheless, the risky high beta currencies, such as AUD, will be vulnerable to such sentiment creeping back through in a market place that is heavily reliant on a successful vaccine rollout.

Road bumps along the way, such as this, could see significant risk-off reactions. 

The SA strain, which may spread faster, was already the dominant virus variant in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa and at least 20 other countries including Austria, US, UK, Norway and Japan, have also found cases.

However, until the market gets a more decisive update, then it is likely to be treated as just noise and investors will see through it and concentrate on more conclusive updates.