Stock investors have not been deterred by rising COVID-19 infection rates, increasing hospitalizations or a trio of pending decisions to address the growing pandemic.
On Thursday, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meets to consider emergency approval of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. It would be the first such okay for a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. The same vaccine was given the green light by UK authorities last week. The British are expected to start vaccinations in the week ahead.
If the FDA panel follows, the first of the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech doses could be delivered to Americans by mid-December. It is the first of two experimental vaccines the advisory group is scheduled to consider this month. And with the stock market recently at new highs, investors clearly expect success.
On Friday, Congress and President Donald Trump face a deadline to keep the federal government open. A temporary spending measure okayed in late September expires. While a government shutdown is not expected, a showdown over more COVID-19 stimulus will determine the scope of any compromised spending deal between House Democrats and Senate Republicans. And the fate of any compromised congressional spending package with a lame duck President Trump is a wildcard.
