MOCO's Novavax Reports Its COVID Vaccine Is 90 Percent Effective

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine is 90 percent effective, the Gaithersburg-based company announced Monday. The finding comes after a study of the vaccine tested on 29,960 people in the United States and Mexico.

Novavax's overall efficacy is on par with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and the company reports its vaccine has 100 percent efficacy against moderate and severe diseases, 93.2 percent efficacy against variant strains, and 91 percent efficacy in high-risk populations.

"Today, Novavax is one step closer to addressing the critical and persistent global public health need for additional COVID-19 vaccines. These clinical results reinforce that NVX-CoV2373 is extremely effective and offers complete protection against both moderate and severe COVID-19 infection," said Stanley C. Erck, president and chief executive officer of Novavax, in a news release. "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."

Novavax said it plans to apply for authorization between July and September, and will likely be able to produce 100 million doses per month by the end of September and 150 million does per month by the end of the year.

When approved, most of the doses will go to low- and middle-income countries, AP News reported.

More than half of the United States population has had at least one dose, according to the CDC. In Maryland, over 70 percent of the population over 18 has received one dose.

County Executive Marc Elrich and Gov. Larry Hogan toured Novavax last week, which is planning to expand its operations. Erck announced after their visit that the biotechnology company could hire as many as 800 people as it expands to a new site in Gaithersburg, according to Bethesda Beat.