Moderna and Pfizer shares climb after CDC calls for pause in use of J&J COVID-19 vaccine

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Moderna and Pfizer shares climb after CDC calls for pause in use of J&J COVID-19 vaccine
A woman receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Wales, UK.Getty/Matthew Horwood
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Investors viewed bad news for Johnson and Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine as good news for Moderna and Pfizer on Tuesday, which both climbed after the CDC called for a pause in the use of J&J's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.

Shares of Moderna surged as much as 7%, while Pfizer and its COVID vaccine partner BioNTech jumped 1% and 3% in Tuesday trades, respectively. Shares of J&J dropped as much as 3% before paring a portion of those losses.

The CDC's guidance to pause the use of J&J's COVID vaccine came following reports of six rare blood clots in patients after receiving the single-dose. The pause comes "out of an abundance of caution," the CDC said.

So far, nearly 7 million J&J vaccine shots have been administered in the US, resulting in a blood clot rate of .00000086% if there are no more than six patients who have developed blood clots.

"CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance," the CDC said.

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According to the New York Times, the pause will likely result in federal vaccination sites not using the J&J vaccine until the risk of blood clots is sorted out, and state officials will likely follow suit. Importantly, the FDA has not revoked J&J's emergency use authorization for the vaccine.

Until the risks of J&J's vaccine are sorted out, the reliance on Moderna and Pfizer's vaccine will increase as the US races to reach herd immunity from COVID-19.

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