Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Now FDA Approved for People 18 and Above, Protein-Based Jab Has Less Side Effects

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older, the fourth shot cleared in the United States.

As specified in a The Verge report, this is the fourth shot cleared in the United States. Also, as indicated in the report, it has been a long road for this particular vaccine, and the company encountered several setbacks over the last few years.

Essentially, the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is a different type of inoculation against the virus, compared to the ones already available in the American market today.

It is a protein-based vaccine delivering pieces of the virus spike protein directly to the body. Clinical tests showed that the jab was 90 percent effective in COVID-19 prevention.

One of the Best Bets Against COVID-19

The trials, nonetheless, were carried out early last year, before the outbreak of the Delta, then the Omicron variants of the virus. Thus, such numbers would likely be lower currently.

Early in this global health crisis, experts believed the Novaax vaccine was among the best bets against COVID-19.

The US government had $1.6 billion for investment in the initiatives of Novavax, more than any other firm at the time.

However, the firm had never brought a vaccine to market. It had problems with its manufacturing, and it did not begin to test its vaccine until well after Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, the US frontrunners.

A Substitute for mRNA Vaccines

Even following the clinical trial results revealed that the vaccine worked well, the manufacturing issues delayed the submissions to the FDA.

Meanwhile, the FDA leadership is hoping that a substitute for mRNA vaccines could be a strategy for encouraging people who haven't received their COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the FDA's director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks, having a protein-based substitute "may be more comfortable for some" regarding their vaccine acceptance.

Addressing Some Issues

CBS News reported that Novavax has otherwise lauded its use of older vaccine technology for its inoculation against COVID-19 as a good substitute to the stable of effective vaccines in the country as it has been administered with lesser side effects during the trials compared to the other vaccines.

Moreover, the Novavax vaccine is working by providing the immune system with a piece of the virus grown in insect cells and mixed with an ingredient known as an adjuvant, which is derived from tee bark, aiming to boost its efficacy in the body.

The mRNA vaccines that are described on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website work by offering cells a blueprint to develop spike proteins to trigger an immune response from the body.

A technique called subunit vaccine, the protein-containing vaccine of Novavax, has long been used widely in other inoculations.

Lastly, this vaccine of Novavax might overcome some religious objections lodged over the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that were initially examined.

A report about the FDA's authorization of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is shown on Forbes Breaking News's YouTube video below:

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