Vaccines offer hope
Integra Lifesciences CEO Peter Arduini
“We’re optimistic that obviously, the vaccines are having a very positive effect. We believe something like the J&J [vaccine] and additions to other vaccines are going to have a big effect as well, but customers are clearly a little skittish and holding back some reserves relative to these added South African and in UK variants and others that may arise,” Integra Lifesciences CEO Peter Arduini told analysts in a call transcribed by The Motley Fool. “And so that’s why we think this is not going to be a big step up; we think it’s going to be linear in the first half. As I’ve reminded others before, I mean, we don’t need to be at herd immunity in our business to start seeing a pickup. We just need to have the ICUs not heavily burdened, and that’s either a combination of people holding reserve beds back or them fully opening up, and we are seeing those beds begin opening up and that has a direct correlation with neurosurgery and in many cases, some of our more invasive procedures on the tissue technology side. But, we’re cautiously optimistic.”
