There is news of potentially an even better COVID-19 vaccine. In this article I’ll discuss a few ASX share ideas that may be worth buying if life is going to return to normal.
An even better vaccine?
Another COVID-19 vaccine’s results have been released and it seems it’s even more effective than the BioNTech – Pfizer one. This one seemingly was around 95% effective, compared to 90% effective for BioNTech’s.
They both work in similar ways, by injecting some of the virus’ genetic code to create an immune response.
One of the main advantages of Moderna’s vaccine, aside from perhaps being slightly more effective, is that it remains stable at 20C for up to six months and can be kept in a normal fridge for up to a month. That’s ‘better’ than BioNTech’s which needs to be stored at -75C and then can be in the fridge for five days.
Less rigorous storage requirements could make the Moderna vaccine easier to distribute to large numbers of people.
Whilst these vaccines don’t provide 100% protection, it’s a lot better than what some feared of around 50% protection (which would still have been better than right now – where there’s nothing providing immunity protection).
If these vaccines can be widely distributed, then it could help life return to normal, helping some beaten up businesses.
ASX share ideas
I’ve already written about some ASX shares that could be recovery opportunities. I’ll cover several quick-fire ideas:
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)
The infant formula business is suffering from a lack of local buying by daigou, tourists and international students. An effective vaccine could see the buyers return, and a recovery of earnings. I think A2 Milk looks like a wise long term buy today.
EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)
This payments business used to make a lot of its money from physical gift cards. There’s less activity than there otherwise would be at the moment, so if everyone became comfortable with physical shops again then this could give EML Payments a big boost.
Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)
Tyro is another payments business, it facilitates payments for its merchants like cafes. More activity at cafes and other locations would be good for the gross volume going through Tyro’s system, which would help earnings.
Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB)
Before the pandemic, Webjet was a very promising travel business. But then travel got smashed. A return of passengers would be very beneficial for Webjet and the broader travel industry. Webjet could be the best one to own in this space because of its operational advantages and global earnings base.
Summary thoughts
Whilst there are plenty of positives with today’s news, I’d personally want to stick to my best ideas like Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH). The world is transitioning to digital payments, whether there’s a pandemic or not.
