Live Nation, CTS, DEAG shares soar after vaccine news
Live music industry behemoths including Live Nation, CTS Eventim and DEAG saw their share prices soar yesterday (9 October), following early results from the world’s first effective coronavirus vaccine which could prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid.
Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s biggest promoter and owner of Ticketmaster, saw its share price rise by more than 22% while pan European ticketing giant CTS Eventim was up 23% and German live entertainment group DEAG’s share price also grew by double digits.
The vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech, has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised. It is one of 11 vaccines that are currently in the final stages of testing.
The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month and the UK has already ordered 40 million doses – enough to vaccinate up to 20 million people as each person will need two doses for it to work effectively.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, health secretary Matt Hancock said it is “absolutely a possibility” that the vaccine would become available before Christmas but he expects a mass roll-out “in the first part of next year”.
This is a first but critical step in our work to deliver a safe and effective vaccine
But Boris Johnson has warned people not to “rely on this news as a solution” as it is still “very, very early days”.
UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin says news of the vaccine is “hugely promising” but added a number of caveats.
“These results indicate 90% efficacy among people who took the vaccine. For an immunisation programme to be fully effective, it will need mass take-up. Never has tackling anti-vax propaganda been more important, and it’s a more difficult challenge than people appreciate,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Rolling out the vaccine will require the biggest logistical effort since WW2 (esp. given the cold chain and need for multiple doses) – government has been doing lots of groundwork to get things ready for a working vaccine, but it will still take many months to roll out fully.”
2. These results indicate 90% efficacy among people who *took the vaccine*. For an immunisation programme to be fully effective, it will need mass take-up. Never has tackling anti-vax propaganda been more important, and it’s a more difficult challenge than people appreciate.
— Jamie Njoku-Goodwin (@jnjokugoodwin) November 9, 2020
Dr Albert Bourla, the chairman of Pfizer, says: “We are one step closer to potentially providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global pandemic. This is a first but critical step in our work to deliver a safe and effective vaccine.”
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