Market decides it's good enough
The headline from the JNJ vaccine trial was 66% effectiveness and only 57% in South Africa, which has a worrisome variant.
On the surface, that doesn't sound like the #1 vaccine that anyone wants to get but medical experts -- including Fauci -- have chimed in to say the news is better than it first looks.
The market had initially kicked lower on the results but has turned around and flipped into a 'risk on' mode with equity futures paring losses and the US dollar falling.
The #1 thing is that the vaccine has proven 100% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths and that's the main thing that we're all worried about. Moreover, the vaccine creates more immunity over the first 60 days so the prognosis gets better over time.
Most important is that this vaccine is just one dose and can be stored in a regular refrigerator for up to 3 months. That's going to make vaccinating the entire world much easier.
Few in markets (including yours truly) are vaccine experts and the 66% headline didn't look great so listening to the experts is the way to go. Given the larger stakes at work here, anyone who winced at the headline is surely happy to be wrong.
AUD/USD is having a look at 0.7700 on the better sentiment.
