A Guide to Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine
After a long delay marred by manufacturing troubles, a COVID-19 vaccine from the small Maryland-based biotech company Novavax became the fourth such vaccine authorized in the U.S. Here, we review how it works and how it’s different from its competitors.
Quick Summary
Vaccine name: NVX-CoV2373
Design type: Adjuvanted protein subunit
Population: Adults and teens 12 years of age and older
Dose number: 2, three to eight weeks apart
Efficacy: 90.4% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in people 18 years of age or older a week or more after the second dose, as measured in a clinical trial prior to the emergence of the omicron variant.
Safety: Trial data indicate the shots increase the rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle and the tissue surrounding the heart.
Doses administered: As of Aug. 17, more than 11,900 doses have been administered in the U.S. For the latest vaccination information, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.
Timeline: A limited number of doses became available in August, following the FDA’s emergency use authorization on July 13.
Operation Warp Speed involvement: Novavax received $1.75 billion from the U.S. government as part of OWS to support development, manufacturing and to buy 100 million doses (3.2 million were secured as of FDA authorization).
Storage considerations: Standard refrigerator temperatures for up to nine months.
The Novavax vaccine is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. and the first to use a protein-based approach commonly used in other vaccines.
