COVID-19 Vaccinations: Efficacy and Financial Benefits (The Case of the Pharmaceutical Companies)

This paper empirically investigates two sides of the COVID-19 vaccinations. The first part is a study of the vaccination efficacy and its impact on the number of new cases and new deaths, using the daily doses data of Eight different COVID-19 vaccination for a sample of 30 countries around the world. The second part is a study of the financial benefits for the same eight vaccines producers’ companies. The event study method is adopted in this research to explore the abnormal returns and its accumulations, the event date is January 30, 2020. The Vaccine’s efficacy results show that (Moderna, Oxford/Astrazeneca, and Novavax V) proved efficacy in reducing new cases and new deaths. Meanwhile, Cansino’s vaccine was effective in reducing the number of new cases only. On the other hand, vaccines like (Pfizer/ Biontech, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson, and Sinopharm/ Beijing) didn’t prove efficacy in reducing the number of new cases and new deaths. The Financial benefits results show that the vaccine manufacturers who achieved the benefits of abnormal returns in the presence of vaccine efficacy are (Oxford/AstraZeneca and Novavax). While other manufacturers did not achieve the benefits of abnormal returns. The results also show that the pharmaceutical companies that achieved benefits on the cumulative abnormal returns in the presence of the vaccine efficacy are (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Novavax, Moderna, and CanSino). Meanwhile, the rest of manufacturers achieved cumulative abnormal returns but they are not effective in reducing the numbers of neither new cases nor new deaths.