Designed using traditional approach, Novavax vaccine gets review by FDA advisory panel on Tuesday.
With three COVID vaccines already authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Americans have easy access to plenty of shots. But a fourth one, under review Tuesday, is entirely different — and it uses a traditional vaccine design that more people may be inclined to trust. The vaccine, made by Novavax, works just as well as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the company’s studies show. Its side effects seem milder. It’s easier to store. At least 41 other countries — including Australia, Canada, South Korea and the 27 members of the European Union — have approved it. And it enlists the same familiar technique as vaccines against flu, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.
“I’m likely going to recommend this for my parents, who are age 84 and 87, for their fifth dose this fall,” said UC San Francisco infectious disease specialist Dr. Monica Gandhi. It may also bolster immunity when used in combination with existing vaccines, said infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong of UCSF. While not yet proven, the Novavax vaccine’s use as a booster could trigger the production of a broader array of antibodies, which might help fend off new variants.
“I think it would make good sense to ‘mix and match’ with a completely different type of vaccine,” he said. “It may generate new kinds of antibodies than are in mRNA vaccines.”
On Tuesday, the vaccine must pass a critical milestone when a panel of outside experts will recommend — or reject — that the FDA authorize the vaccine. Data show that Novavax is 96% effective in preventing severe disease or death and 90% protective against infection, comparable to Moderna and Pfizer. This data was collected before the more contagious omicron and its subvariants started widely circulating. About 40% of people reported fatigue after a second dose of Novavax, compared with 65% for Moderna and more than 55% percent for Pfizer. But there are concerns about a small number of cases of rare heart inflammation, which caused the biotech company’s share price to plummet 18% on Monday. Similar problems led federal health officials this spring to recommend a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
