Large study finds Novavax Covid-19 vaccine shot about 90 per cent effective

Vaccine maker Novavax said Monday its shot was highly effective against Covid19 and also protected against variants in a large latestage study in the US and MexicoThe vaccine was about 90 per cent effective overall and preliminary data showed it was safe the company saidWhile demand for Covid19 shots in the US has dropped off dramatically the need for more vaccines around the world remains critical The Novavax vaccine which is easy to store and transport is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing worldAlso Read lsquoCentrersquos rerevised policy continues to allow inequity in access to vaccinesrsquoThat help is still months away however The company says it plans to seek authorization for the shots in the US Europe and elsewhere by the end of September and be able to produce up to 100 million doses a month by thenldquoMany of our first doses will go to low and middleincome countries and that was the goal to begin withrdquo Novavax Chief Executive Stanley Erck told The Associated PressWhile more than half of the US population has had at least one Covid19 vaccine dose less than 1 percent of people in the developing world have had one shot according to Our World In DataNovavaxs study involved nearly 30000 people ages 18 and up in the US and Mexico Twothirds received two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart and the rest got dummy shotsThere were 77 cases of Covid19 14 in the group that got the vaccine and the rest were in volunteers who received dummy shots None in the vaccine group had moderate or severe disease compared to 14 in the placebo groupThe vaccine was similarly effective against several variants including the one first detected in the UK thats dominant in the US and in highrisk populations including the elderly and people with other health problemsldquoSide effects were mostly mild tenderness and pain at the injection site There were no reports of unusual blood clots or heart problemsrdquo Erck saidNovavax reported the results in a press release and plans to publish in a medical journal where it will be vetted by independent experts The Marylandbased company previously released findings from smaller studies in Britain and South AfricaCovid19 vaccines train the body to recognize the coronavirus especially the spike protein that coats it and get ready to fight the virus off The Novavax vaccine is made with labgrown copies of that protein Thats different from some of the other vaccines now widely used which include genetic instructions for the body to make its own spike proteinThe Novavax vaccine can be stored in standard refrigerators making it easier to distributeNovavax previously announced manufacturing delays due to supply shortages The company now expects to reach production of 100 million doses a month by the end of September and 150 million doses a month by DecemberThe company has committed to supplying 110 million doses to the US over the next year and a total of 11 billion doses to developing countriesIn May vaccines alliance Gavi announced it had signed an agreement to buy 350 million doses of Novavaxs vaccine with deliveries estimated to begin in the third quarter COVAX the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries is facing a critical shortage of vaccines after its biggest supplier in India suspended exports until the end of the year Novavax has been working on developing vaccines for more than three decades but hasnt brought one to market The companys coronavirus vaccine work is partly funded by the US governmentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever