New Covid vaccine - Novavax vaccine is under trials. On Monday, the manufactures claimed that this Covid jab is more than 90 percent effective against the coronavirus variant. It was claimed after a large-scale US study was conducted over its usage.
The company said in a statement, “Novavax Covid vaccine demonstrates more than 90 percent overall efficacy and provides 100 percent protection against moderate and severe disease.” The statement further added, “The study enrolled about 30,000 participants across 119 in the US and Mexico to evaluate efficacy, safety and immunogenicity.”
Also Read: Explained: Why US FDA declined emergency use authorization to Covaxin?
Stanley C Erck, Novavax’s president and chief executive said, “Today, Novavax is one step closer to addressing the critical and persistent global public health need for additional COVID-19 vaccines. Novavax continues to work with a sense of urgency to complete our regulatory submissions and deliver this vaccine, built on a well understood and proven platform, to a world that is still in great need of vaccines.”
During the trial, Novavax identified the B.1.1.7 variant of Covid-19, which is most commonly found in the UK. The vaccine was 91 percent effective against this Covid variant but it was roughly 70 percent effective against the Covid-19 variant that Novavax was unable to identify, Dr Gregory Glenn said.
In terms of the new variant, Glenn said, “Practically speaking, it is very important that the vaccine can protect against a virus that is wildly swinging around.”
Like other jabs, the Novavax vaccine, which is formally known as NVX-CoV23723, does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures. The company said that it could be stored at 2 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius.
The Maryland headquartered company said that it intended to apply for regulatory approval by the third quarter of 2021. After that, it said that it would make around 100 million doses per month by the end of the third quarter and by the end of the year the number of doses per month is expected to increase to 150 million.
While some rich countries have made progress on vaccinating their population, the concern remains with many poorer countries. Vaccination rates in the poorer nations are far behind the G7 industrialized powers and other wealthy countries.