What happened
Friday was a good day for now-famous biotech Moderna (MRNA 3.28%), whose mRNA-1273 coronavirus vaccine continues to inoculate Americans. The company's shares rose by 7.7% on the day, thanks largely to the latest pronouncement by a major health authority.
So what
Indicating how much progress has been made -- in no small part thanks to Moderna's vaccine -- the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) loosened its guidance on mask-wearing Thursday.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now, according to CDC's director Rochelle Walensky, "Anyone who is fully vaccinated, can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing."
"If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic," she added.
This has led to a scramble and much head-scratching among healthcare authorities as to implementation of the new guidelines and how to modify current rules and practices. But the positive upshot will be -- hopefully -- that anti-vaxxers and those generally reluctant to get their shots will be enticed by the possibility of not having to wear that piece of cloth everywhere they go.
Now what
If vaccine innoculation of those previously reluctant increases, Moderna stands to benefit significantly.
The biotech company's jab remains only one of only three coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S., and as such will continue to be a default choice for inoculation. The great mRNA-1273 success story, then, is far from over.
