Moderna vaccine success, Afterpay update, Westpac upgraded // Motley Fool Australia

At lunch on Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back trading as normal and continuing its ascent. The benchmark index is currently up 0.35% to 6,508.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine gives ASX 200 a boost.

News that there is another potentially effective COVID-19 vaccine has given the Australian share market a boost on Tuesday. Overnight Moderna reported that its COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 during its phase three trials. This was even better than Pfizer’s vaccine which was shown to be more than 90% effective against COVID-19. Both vaccines are using mRNA technology. This is a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material to provoke an…