Health & Fitness
Novavax Says Its Coronavirus Vaccine Is 90 Percent Effective
In testing volunteers who had various coronavirus variants, Novavax said its vaccine could soon be ready to request emergency authorization.
ACROSS AMERICA — The coronavirus vaccine developed by Novavax is more than 90 percent effective against the virus and many of its variants, company officials said Monday, according to several news reports.
Novavax’s announcement comes after a study that included about 30,000 volunteers in the United States and Mexico, Reuters and others have reported. The results put the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based biotechnology company on track to file for emergency authorization in the United States as early as July.
The Novavax vaccine trial detected the B.1.1.7 United Kingdom variant, as well as the coronavirus variants first detected in Brazil, South Africa and India, according to Reuters, which cited Novavax’s head of research and development, Dr. Gregory Glenn.
Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Glenn said the vaccine was 91 percent effective among volunteers at high risk of severe infection and 100 percent at preventing moderate and severe cases.
The Novavax shot stands to become the fifth Western-developed COVID-19 vaccine to win clearance, according to The Associated Press. The Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are already authorized for use in the United States and Europe. Europe also uses AstraZeneca's formula.
Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
