Cramer Cautions Against 'Childlike' Investor Reactions In COVID-19 Vaccine Race

AstraZeneca plc AZN and the University of Oxford presented good news Monday in the race toward developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

Yet AstraZeneca's stock fell, while stocks that are considered to be beneficiaries from the pandemic surged.

What Happened: Monday's data from AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate confirmed it is safe for human use, CNBC's Jim Cramer said on "Mad Money."

The vaccine also demonstrated a positive immune response that needs to be further tested among less healthy people.

All of this is "good news" and something that investors would be "normally happy about," Cramer said.

The reality is that hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, will likely want to take a vaccine, Cramer said, adding that this means vaccine makers need to be sure to "get it right" — and this takes time.

Why It's Important: Many investors fail to fully understand the progress of a vaccine, Cramer said. Some are under the false assumption that a decision to mass distribute a vaccine can be made overnight.

"That's a child-like fantasy," Cramer said. "In other words, it's not like the AstraZeneca results were disappointing, it's too many buyers need a reality check."

What's Next: Some investors are assuming the market is set to crash as it did in 1999, Cramer said. But money "has to go somewhere" and there is no shortage of good quality stocks as was the case in 1999.

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