What happened
Although the FDA recently gave emergency use authorization (USA) for Modernin (NASDAQ: MRNA) Coronavirus mRNA-1273 vaccine, the company’s stock was a major failure on Monday. This was probably due to some scary news about a patient who received the vaccine before Christmas.
And
The New York Times reported on Friday that Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncology researcher at Boston Medical Center, said he developed a severe allergic reaction shortly after receiving his initial injection of the two-dose mRNA-1273 regimen.
Minutes after receiving his injection, Sadrzadeh said he felt dizzy and increased heart rate. He was allowed to administer epinephrine to himself with an EpiPen, which he keeps close at hand due to a serious seafood allergy.
Image source: Getty Images.
The Boston Medical Center said that after his self-treatment, the doctor was “evaluated, treated, observed and dismissed”. He added that on Friday, he was fine.
Moderna’s vaccine is only the second of two coronavirus vaccines to receive a US; the first was Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTechin (NASDAQ: BNTX) BNT162b2. Moderna’s authorization was granted on December 18, six days after Pfizer and BioNTech received the authorization.
What now
No investor in biotechnology wants to hear about a reaction like Sadrzadeh’s to his vaccine or medicine, especially just a few days after his authorization by a regulator. We do not yet know exactly how effective mRNA-1273 is in mass inoculations, but we must remember that occasional adverse reactions are not uncommon for any vaccine or treatment. Moderna did not deserve such a sale with this news.