• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer: Bring on the Vaccine, I'm Ready

The sooner that we get jabbed the more likely the economy can spring back to life.
By JIM CRAMER
Dec 09, 2020 | 01:53 PM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: PFE, MRNA, JNJ, EBS

I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get jabbed. Oh, I am sure it will hurt, whichever one I get. And I don't expect that I will want to go do Mad Money that night. But then again, I may be so elated that perhaps it could be just a sensational day, one worth celebrating.

When I first started predicting that we could have a massive pandemic that would not be able to be stopped by any shot or medicine, I was setting in for a scared siege. I read the literature, I listened to dozens of people smarter than me and I figure that no vaccine would be available for, at the quickest, a year and a half. It took four years to develop a mumps vaccine and as someone who had mumps I can tell you that it didn't seem all that mysterious.

But this thing? We didn't know how you could get it. We focused on surfaces and handshakes, and not the aerosol spray from your mouth.

We had no coherent strategy and we had no idea what worked.

In the end, out of desperation, the government created a non-political initiative, Operation Warp Speed that spread billions of dollars to drug companies that wanted to beat this darned thing.

I know that we are in a cynical, fearful moment where much seems to be going wrong. So many are out of work. So many institutions are closing. Democrats and Republicans can't seem to agree on anything even when Treasury Secretary Mnuchin suggests giving households $600 per person. That could at least provide a Christmas tied over until we get closer to the vaccine, along with a boost in the amount of unemployment insurance and some help for small business.

Look I think it should be more than that and I think it should be contingent entirely on licking the disease. You have to take the vaccine to get the benefits.

My view, I know, will not prevail. But the sooner that we get jabbed the more likely the economy can spring back to life.

But let's not get too deep in the woods. What matters is that the impossible is going on right before our eyes. The amazing scientists at drug companies like Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) weren't deterred by those who said that it couldn't be done any time soon. They were determined to get it done fast and they have.

I know that the Pfizer vaccine has cold requirements that could make it onerous to produce while the Moderna may be easier to handle but in shorter supply. I think the surprise will come from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) . I was concerned that we wouldn't hear any news until the middle of the first quarter from a company that I think has the possibility of producing a billion vaccines given that it has partnered with Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) even as it was far from being tested. Now I think that JNJ is well ahead of schedule because the trials are reportedly going so well given that Covid's all over the place. That grim scenario, nationwide, allows the company to assess who gets it and who doesn't in pretty rapid fashion.

I think we are now in a position to believe that we could have what a UK medical publication, Greenmantle, is calling a vaccine glut in the developed world by mid first quarter. That's simply astounding and it isn't haled nearly enough given how we were told how impossible that would be.

Which leads me to make a bold prediction. Last February my wife threw me a dynamite birthday party. The only downer moment? When I shocked everyone and said this was it, the last time we would be having fun because of the pandemic.

Now, don't know if she will throw me another rager. But I want to shock people again and predict that because of science we will be on the cusp of having fun again. The whole thing is surreal. I don't want to get too far ahead of my skis but as crazy as it seemed back then that we could have a scourge that could kill tens of thousands of our own people, it will be even more amazing when the tyranny of Covid ends just like that because of companies that typically we do nothing but excoriate because of price gauging. But now we should be thanking for all they've done to beat Covid-19.

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust, has no position in the stocks mentioned.

TAGS: Economy | Investing | Markets | Stocks | Drug Approvals | Trading | Pharmaceuticals | Jim Cramer | Coronavirus |

More from Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer: The Costco Room Provides a Costly Lesson in Shareholder Divergence

Jim Cramer
Mar 5, 2021 5:57 AM EST

Those investors who hold Costco because they believe in the retailer are not among friends when it comes to many of their fellow stockholders.

Jim Cramer: Playing the Relative Investing Game

Jim Cramer
Mar 4, 2021 6:41 AM EST

Investing can be fun until it turns brutal for what seems to be no reason.

Jim Cramer: When Do We Go Back to Buying the Winners and Stop Buying the Losers?

Jim Cramer
Mar 3, 2021 2:35 PM EST

One of the most continual themes in this market is that anything that was liked last year is hated this year.

Jim Cramer: These Tech Stars Really Shine

Jim Cramer
Mar 1, 2021 1:07 PM EST

Here are five buys in technology companies that are just out of this world.

Jim Cramer: This GameStop Nonsense Has Gotten Out of Hand

Jim Cramer
Feb 26, 2021 7:11 AM EST

It has become the market equivalent of the storming of the Capitol, and the viciousness must stop.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 11:38 AM EST GARY BERMAN

    The INDU and DIA

    FIBOCALL: The INDU index and the DIA The INDU ...
  • 10:44 AM EST JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    "The Challenge of Short-Selling"
  • 08:40 AM EST PAUL PRICE

    Recent Pick SpartanNash (SPTN) Raised Its Quarterly Payout by 3.9%

  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login