New Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine over 90 Percent Effective against Variety of Coronaviruses

Society » HEALTH | June 14, 2021, Monday // 18:55
Bulgaria: New Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine over 90 Percent Effective against Variety of Coronaviruses

Novavax vaccine against Covid-19 proved more than 90% effective against a variety of virus variants, the company reported on Monday. The results came from its US-based clinical trial, news wires reported. The study of nearly 30,000 volunteers puts Novavax on track to file for emergency authorisation in the US and elsewhere in the third quarter of 2021.

Novavax's protein-based vaccine candidate was more than 93% effective against the predominant variants of Covid-19 that have been of concern among scientists and public health officials, the company claimed. Protein-based vaccines are a conventional approach that use purified pieces of the virus to spur an immune response.

During the trial, the B.1.1.7 variant first discovered in the UK became the most common variant in the US. Novavax also detected variants of Covid-19 first found in Brazil, South Africa and India among its trial participants, Novavax's head of research and development, Dr. Gregory Glenn, told Reuters.

The vaccine was 91% effective among volunteers at high risk of severe infection and 100% effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19. It was roughly 70% effective against Covid-19 variants that Novavax was unable to identify, Glenn said. "Practically speaking, it's very important that the vaccine can protect against a virus that is wildly swinging around," Glenn said.

Novavax said the vaccine was generally well tolerated among participants. Side effects included headache, fatigue and muscle pain and were generally mild. A small number of participants experienced side effects described as severe. Novavax remains on track to produce 100 million doses per month by the end of the third quarter of 2021 and 150 million doses per month in the fourth quarter of 2021, the company said.

 

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Tags: COVID-19, new vaccine, Novavax

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