Source: abcnews
The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine has been found to have more than 90 per cent efficacy, paving the way for it to be available later this year in Australia.
The successful results from the phase 3 clinical trial of more than 30,000 volunteers in the United States and Mexico puts Novavax on track to have its two-dose vaccine approved in the US and elsewhere in the third quarter of 2021.
It backs up results of a UK study, released in January, that showed a similar efficacy in preventing infection from coronavirus.
What is Novavax?
Novavax is an American company based in the state of Maryland.
It was founded in 1987 and focuses on producing vaccines for COVID-19, as well as other serious diseases, such as Ebola and the flu.
The company’s COVID-19 vaccine is officially called NVX-CoV2373.
Will the Novavax vaccine be available in Australia?
The Australian government has agreed to purchase 51 million doses of the Novavax vaccine.
The federal government had originally planned to buy 40 million doses, but upped that figure in December.
They had been slated to arrive in mid-2021, but now it looks more likely they will be available later in the year.
Novavax plans to produce 100 million doses per month in the US by September, increasing to 150 million doses per month by the end of 2021.
Production targets have been pushed back because of issues with access to raw materials and equipment needed to manufacture the vaccine.
It is unclear if it will be produced in Australia, but Novavax has selected a Sydney-based start-up called Biocelect to roll out the jab in Australia and New Zealand.
Does Novavax use mRNA?
No, Novavax does not use mRNA.
The mRNA vaccines, like Pfizer and Moderna, contain a piece of genetic code called RNA that the body creates an immune response for.
Novavax uses a traditional vaccine approach of using purified pieces of the coronavirus to spur an immune response in the body.
The body can then make antibodies to the spike proteins that cover the coronavirus.
Does the Novavax vaccine have any side effects?
Novavax says side effects reported in the trial included headache, fatigue and muscle pain, especially at the injection site.
The side effects were generally mild.
There were no reports of unusual blood clots that have occurred in rare cases associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Does Novavax protect against the different coronavirus strains?
Novavax says its vaccine is most effective against the original corona-virus strain, as well as the Alpha strain that was first detected in the UK.
It was less effective against the Beta strain that arose in South Africa.
A phase 2b trial in that country found the Novavax vaccine had a 48.6 per cent efficacy against the Beta strain.
