On June seventh, 2022, the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine was authorised to be used in adults by the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the US Meals and Drug Administration. The vaccine has already been approved in lots of different nations, together with Indonesia, the UK, Canada, Australia, and extra, making the U.S. one of many final main nations to approve the vaccine.
The know-how behind Novavax differs from the already distinguished Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in that it makes use of a extra conventional and time-intensive method that includes figuring out and manipulating purified proteins to induce an efficient immune system response. This process has been used for decades to fight illnesses like hepatitis, shingles, and influenza, amongst others, and this technique could make Novavax the higher vaccine relative to the present mRNA and viral vector-based vaccines available on the market for a number of causes. Although unusual, vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna have resulted in harmful unintended effects similar to heart inflammation and blood clots. Protein-based vaccines like Novavax, then again, are cheaper, have larger efficacy, and are much less prone to end in short-term unintended effects or long-term problems. Present estimates mission the vaccine to price about $16 per injection compared to the $23.15 and $25.50 for Pfizer and Moderna, respectively. Novavax presently plans to ship “a few million doses” of their first cargo to the U.S.
Though the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee has prolonged approval, Novavax has not been given full clearance to be distributed in the US. In response to present information from the Phase 3 clinical trial that has been performed, the vaccine is 90 p.c efficient in opposition to COVID-19 symptomatic an infection and 100% in opposition to average and extreme illness. Roughly 30,000 individuals aged 18 and older had been part of this examine as reported within the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2021. Nevertheless, it is very important needless to say this information was gathered previous to the unfold of the Omicron variant and will not replicate the vaccine’s true efficacy in opposition to newer strains. Given its conventional method to growing vaccines, Novavax hopes to achieve residents who could not have been snug with earlier mRNA vaccines because of the unintended effects or vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, it boasts the power to be saved at fridge temperatures for months, permitting for a longer shelf life than mRNA-based vaccines.
However how a lot of an impact will Novavax actually have? 89 percent of American adults have already obtained no less than one dose of a vaccine, leaving presumably little room for Novavax to have a major influence. Nevertheless, the worldwide well being group stays optimistic in regards to the future to return. Dr. Peter Marks, the Director of the Middle for Biologics Analysis and Analysis (CBER), has urged that a protein-based alternative may have a greater reuptake than previous vaccines as people is perhaps extra snug with this sort of vaccine. All issues thought of, Novavax could possibly present equitable entry to a different vaccine different that would shield our communities and additional curb the unfold of COVID-19.
Vibhav Prabhakar is a highschool pupil. Tejas Sekhar is a graduate pupil. Divya Srinivasan is an undergraduate pupil.
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