![]() ![]() According to the World Health Organization, "It is impossible to compare vaccines head to head due to the different approaches taken in designing the respective studies." Real-world data comparing the effectiveness of Novavax to other vaccines doesn't exist yet. Both the delta and omicron variants - including omicron subvariant BA.5 - are more contagious and evade some immunity from vaccines and prior infection. But importantly, that trial was conducted before the omicron or delta variants were widely circulating. Published results from a trial found that Novavax's primary vaccine was more than 90% effective against symptomatic COVID-19, and 100% effective against severe disease and death. Yulia Reznikov/Getty Images How effective is Novavax? But Novavax has serious disadvantages when it comes to manufacturing, Kedl said, because it isn't cheap for the company to produce and purify the proteins. This may be an advantage when vaccinating harder-to-reach communities where keeping finicky vaccines cool in the fridge may be difficult. However, it is easier to store and ship than mRNA vaccines, he said. "Immunologically speaking, in my view it does not really bring an awful lot on its own to the table that is not already well-addressed by the mRNA vaccines," Kedl said. While it offers another option, however, the jury may be out on whether Novavax offers superior immunity to Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines. Some vaccines for influenza, shingles and other ailments use a similar technology. ![]() "Specifically, Novavax is very similar to the hepatitis B vaccine" that most of us receive as children, Wortmann said. Glenn Wortmann, an infectious disease specialist with MedStar Health, said the general approach of most vaccines is to use a protein base. In the Novavax vaccine, a purified protein of the virus is mixed with what's called an adjuvant - additives that "wake up the immune response and tell it to take this target seriously," Kedl said.ĭr. ![]() Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use mRNA technology, and Johnson & Johnson is a viral-vector vaccine. Novavax is a COVID-19 vaccine that uses a more traditional protein-based technology, unlike the other vaccines currently available in the US. (But you can get the second dose up to eight weeks after the first, per the CDC.)Īs is the case with any other drug or vaccine, people with allergies to an ingredient in Novavax shouldn't take it, Kristen Nichols, pharmacist and senior content management consultant at Wolters Kluwer, said in an email. It's authorized as a two-dose primary series, with each dose typically given three weeks apart. Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine is for people age 12 and older who haven't received any COVID-19 vaccine yet. You should find it under "Primary vaccines," not "Updated vaccines," since the updated vaccines refers to the new, targeted formulas from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. To find a dose near you, select Novavax from the list and enter your ZIP code. You should be able to see places that have Novavax in stock on the government's vaccine finder website. The FDA authorized a " mix and match" approach to boosters last year. It doesn't matter which vaccine you originally received, as long as you haven't gotten a booster yet. You can choose to get Novavax as a booster because you don't want a different formula or have an allergy to other formulas. Vaccine types like Novavax have been around for more than 30 years, according to the CDC, and are used against shingles, the flu and other illnesses. Like the first two doses of Novavax, its availability as a booster dose will give those who've been holding out for a protein-based or more "traditional" vaccine another option. ![]() Novavax has been available to adults and teens as young as age 12 as the original or primary vaccine, but this is the first time some people will be able to get it as a booster. Boosters are needed to restore some of the immunity that's faded from the original vaccine and any past COVID-19 infections. About 48% of US adults who are vaccinated haven't received a first booster dose. The new authorization applies to people who've gone at least six months since their primary vaccine and who haven't had any booster yet. Unvaccinated adults can get Novavax as their primary vaccine.Īdults who can't or don't want to get the updated booster formula from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna can get a shot of Novavax as their booster, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration said last week. If you've received your primary vaccine at least six months ago and haven't gotten any other booster, you can get a shot of Novavax. Novavax is the first protein-based vaccine for COVID-19 available in the US, which is a more traditional vaccine type. Health officials are letting some adults get a Novavax shot as their booster, instead of the updated mRNA vaccine formulas. ![]()
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