The Food and Drug Administration has Novavax's updated protein-based Covid vaccine for Emergency response in people aged 12 and over on Friday, paving the best way for the vaccine to be Pfizer And Modern's vaccinations this fall and winter.
Novavax's vaccine targets the highly contagious omicron subvariant JN.1 that was widespread within the U.S. earlier this yr. JN.1 accounted for just 0.2% of cases circulating nationwide this week, based on the newest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data.
Novavax makes protein-based vaccines that can’t be quickly updated to focus on a distinct strain of the virus.
Nevertheless, the biotechnology company noted that its vaccine provides protection against the descendants of JN.1 currently prevalent within the United States, including KP.2.3, KP.3, KP.3.1.1 and LB.1.
“Our updated vaccine targets JN.1, the 'parent strain' of currently circulating variants, and has demonstrated robust cross-reactivity with viruses of the JN.1 lineage,” Novavax CEO John Jacobs said in an announcement.
Novavax expects its vaccine to be “widely available” in hundreds of locations across the U.S., including retail and independent pharmacies, in addition to local grocers.
Following the announcement, Novavax shares rose greater than 8% on Friday.
The FDA's decision comes just every week after it approved a brand new round of messenger RNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna, each of which goal one other strain of JN.1 called KP.2. Last yr, the agency approved Novavax's shot nearly a month after approving its rivals' vaccines, putting the corporate at an obstacle.
Public health officials see Novavax's vaccine as a precious alternative for individuals who don't need to get mRNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna, which use a more moderen vaccination method to show cells to make proteins that trigger an immune response against Covid. Novavax's vaccine, then again, fights off the virus using protein-based technology, a decades-old method utilized in routine vaccinations against hepatitis B and shingles.
It is unclear how many individuals will receive a brand new Covid vaccination this fall and winter.
Only about 22.5% of adults within the U.S. received the newest round of vaccinations administered last fall, based on CDC data until the start of May.
image credit : www.cnbc.com