Novavax Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine 90% Effective, But Far Less Against New Variant

Novavax claims vaccine to be 90 per cent effective: A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax has proved nearly 90% effective in preliminary results from a key clinical trial in the United Kingdom.

But the company also added that in a separate trial it appeared far less effective against a new variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa.

The company conducted the test on 15,000 volunteers in the U.K. They found that in nine out of ten cases, it prevented the virus, even the new U.K mutation. However, among the 4,400 volunteers in the South Africa study, the vaccine only proved 49% effective. 

Novavax provided some details also on the vaccine's safety. It especially said that its vaccine rarely showed any serious side effects.

Meanwhile, the data provided by the company regarding their vaccine and the studies conducted may not be enough for U.S. approval. In fact, the U.S. has signed a contract to buy 100 million of them. 

However, Novavax said it expects to file for an emergency authorisation in the U.K. in the coming months. The company is expecting to produce about 2 billion doses of its vaccine in 2021. 

Nahid Bhadelia is a medical director of the special pathogens unit at Boston Medical Center. She said that though the efficacy rate is low in the South Africa variant, the results are not "a complete wash." Also, she added that the study "can still make a huge difference."

Meanwhile, the results emphasize the important work of figuring out how to develop booster shots against new variants of coronavirus.

About Novavax's vaccine 

The company's vaccine works similarly to other vaccines produced so far. It is also a two-dose shot. The vaccine works by mimicking a protein called a spike, which is found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2. Then, our immune system will produce antibodies against this protein hence preventing infection of COVID-19. 

Though a small company, Novavax is using the most tried-and-true technology like other bigger frontrunners in the race to develop Covid-19.

In July 2020 the company had recievd$1.6 billion in funding from the American company Operation Warp Speed to increase its production. But the first 100 million doses will be acquired by the U.S. as part of the agreement.

The data released by Novavax has come at a time when countries around the world are in urgent need of vaccination. Even, the U.S. has been struggling to meet the demand despite its large-scale Moderna vaccine drives.