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Since December, there has been a decrease in stock market performance because Omnicron infection rates have spiked, leaving many industries understaffed. The Airline industry was doing better around the Holidays, but omicron sent many workers home sick. Because of this, airlines are still technically understaffed, and many suffered the need for canceling up to 200 flights in one day (Tracy). There were also many delays, and with both of these transportation issues, some people were left at their holiday destination for longer than anticipated. These flight issues are happening globally, and it is nothing new. Postal services have been doing much better since there is no longer a shipping backup, but COVID is sweeping the nation, taking many people temporarily out of work. Because short-staffing is prevailing everywhere, there are fewer people available to unload cargo and deliver packages. According to the CDC, there was a 33% increase in new daily cases as of January 12th. Hospitalizations also increased by 24%. There hasn’t been much change within the Stock Market otherwise.

It is likely Omicron will continue to heavily infect the US, but it is more important to consider that other variants are likely to arise, with a higher infectious rate. Many variants are likely to form, and some will become widespread (CDC), which is why this pattern needs to be acknowledged. With that information, the medical industry will need a lot of financial support, and investments directed toward companies tackling COVID such as Pfizer or Moderna will likely produce more vaccines. Even so, with a decreased quarantine mandated, spread is more likely, allowing for new, more infectious variants to have a higher likelihood of transmission. This is a big, recurring issue, and while there hasn’t been much economic change in areas such as flight, postal services, or technology, the medical field specifically involving coronavirus will need to keep up with every new strand. It's probable that these vaccine distributing brands will have stocks that go up in value, but currently they are both. So, not only is it a good idea to invest currently because they are likely to gain value, but they’re also currently cheaper than on average.

Works Cited:

CDC. “COVID Data Tracker.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Mar. 2020, covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions. Accessed January 21, 2022.

“Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Feb. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/forecasting/mathematical-modeling-outbreak.html. Accessed January 21, 2022.

“COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Jan. 2022, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview. Accessed January 21, 2022.

Tracy, Marc. “Airlines Cancel Hundreds More Flights as Virus Scrambles Air Travel.” The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/12/26/business/flights-canceled-us.html. Accessed January 21, 2022.

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Recent workforce shortages in the airline industry caused stocks to decrease. Travel has boomed, likely due to the holiday fervor, and airlines are seemingly unprepared for such numbers. Ultimately, many flights were delayed or canceled because of understaffing which has been difficult to compensate for. Additionally, there is a shipping backup estimated to last well into 2022, which is not only affecting the transportation of goods and packages industries, but online retailers as well. Overall, that significantly decreases the value of stock within strictly online retail as well as postal services. The products are not reaching customers at the same rate preceding the back up and the need for workers in areas such as delivery is reaching a higher demand which currently can not be met. The Solar industry hasn’t met any significant influence or demand within the past month, nor has the technology industry been significantly affected. Both those general stocks have been decently consistent. Thus, the delivery industry and retail have slowed, and the airline industry is further in a deficit.

The Omicron COVID variant has a large and surprisingly immediate effect on the current economy and stock market. The value of airline stocks will likely decrease due to travel restrictions around the globe. Specifically, the United States has already restricted travel with South Africa, where the variant first presented and rapidly spread. The USA also places travel restrictions on Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi, although the restriction does not extend to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. For obvious reasons, the airlines are negatively influenced, with such a sudden falter in demand (too much to too little). Also, trade between the United States and the countries it has placed restrictions on will suffer a lack of trade, and cautious citizens would now rather shop and order online, enforcing the already backed up delivery system. Then taking the upcoming holidays and sales such as Black Friday into account, there will be a surplus of deliveries the postal service may have trouble transporting. Biden is following advice provided by science and medical specialist teams, which had very limited information on the new virus. The most important information, though, is that it seems to mutate faster, meaning Omicron can likely transmit and infect faster, as well as develop a higher vaccine resistance. What’s more, the virus has already reached the US and now poses a bigger, more direct threat. This will influence the public’s priority, in turn taking a toll on specific businesses or genres of suppliers. Among other states, California and New York have now been infected with the virus. These are very densely populated areas so the mutable variant has a higher likelihood of spreading. In addition to that, there is no mandate or quarantine recommended by the government as there had been at the beginning of the pandemic. There are now many public events that draw people, and if one ill person attends, they could infect everyone. Popular companies with a generally steady growth, which have not faltered very much recently, will predictably remain consistent. With these new health matters taken into account, medical stocks, specifically those issuing vaccines for coronavirus, will increase, meaning an investment in that area will be beneficial. Current statistics suspect Omicron will require a new, stronger vaccine due to its adaptability, so investing in Pfizer or Maderna will not only assist in funding the vaccine and ultimately pull the world out of the pandemic, hopefully, but will benefit stockholders due to rebounding popularity. Overall, corporations such as Pfizer or Moderna will see growth in the near future due to the new strand of Covid, yet the airline industry will continue to decline if understaffing remains consistent.

Works Cited:

“As Workforce Shortages Force Flight Cancellations, Delays, and Passenger Frustrations, Chair Cantwell Calls on Airlines for Answers.” U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, 22 July 2021, www.commerce.senate.gov/2021/7/as-workforce-shortages-force-flight-cancellations-delays-and-passenger-frustrations-chair-cantwell-calls-on-airlines-for-answers. Accessed December 3, 2021.

Cox, Jeff. “Economists Expect Shipping Problems to Linger Well into 2022.” CNBC, 26 Oct. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/10/25/economists-expect-shipping-problems-to-linger-well-into-2022.html. Accessed December 3, 2021.

Gomez, Henry. “U.S. to Restrict Travel from South Africa, 7 Other Nations amid New Covid Variant.” NBC News, 27 Nov. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/u-s-restrict-travel-south-africa-seven-other-nations-amid-n1284702. Accessed December 3, 2021.

“Omicron Coronavirus Variant Found in Multiple US States.” AP NEWS, 3 Dec. 2021, apnews.com/article/omicron-variant-anime-convention-new-york-minnesota-a343c1d0bcc6e59f8696491443f704db. Accessed December 3, 2021.

Schuppe, Jon, and Chantal da Silva. “Will Covid Variant Omicron Need a New Vaccine? Time and Data Will Tell.” NBC News, 27 Nov. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/will-covid-variant-omicron-need-new-vaccine-time-data-will-tell-rcna6819. Accessed December 3, 2021.