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A late-stage study conducted in the United States and Mexico found that Novavax injection is effective against COVID-19 and its variants.
Vaccine manufacturer Novavax stated that its vaccine is very effective against COVID-19 and can prevent mutations in a large late-stage study in the United States and Mexico, which has greatly promoted global immunization efforts.
The company said on Monday that the overall effectiveness of the vaccine is about 90%, and preliminary data shows it is safe.
Although the U.S. demand for COVID-19 vaccines has fallen sharply, the global demand for more vaccines remains critical.
Novavax vaccine is easy to store and transport, and is expected to play an important role in promoting vaccine supply in developing countries.
However, this will take several months. The company said it plans to seek authorizations for vaccines in the United States, Europe and elsewhere by the end of September, by which time it can produce up to 100 million doses per month.
“Many of our first doses of vaccines will be used in… low- and middle-income countries, and that is our goal,” Novavax CEO Stanley Erck told The Associated Press.
Vaccine inequality
According to our data world, although more than half of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, less than 1% of people in developing countries have been vaccinated once.
Novavax’s research involved nearly 30,000 people 18 years and older in the United States and Mexico. Two-thirds of people received two doses of the vaccine, three weeks apart, and the rest received fake vaccines.
There were 77 COVID cases — 14 of the vaccinated group, and the rest were volunteers who were vaccinated.
No one in the vaccine group had moderate or severe disease, compared to 14 in the placebo group.
The vaccine is equally effective against many variants, including the alpha variant that was first discovered in the UK and spread widely in the United States, as well as high-risk groups such as the elderly and people with other health problems.
The side effects are mostly mild-tenderness and pain at the injection site. Erck said there were no reports of abnormal blood clots or heart problems.
Novavax reported the results in a press release and plans to publish it in a medical journal, where it will be reviewed by an independent expert.
The Maryland-based company previously published the results of small studies conducted in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The COVID-19 vaccine trains the body to recognize the coronavirus, especially the spike protein that wraps it, and prepares it to fight the virus.
The Novavax vaccine is made from a copy of this protein grown in the laboratory.
Novavax vaccine can be stored in a standard refrigerator, making it easier to distribute.
Novavax previously announced that it was postponing production due to supply shortages.
Production target
The company now expects to reach a monthly output of 100 million doses by the end of September, and a monthly output of 150 million doses by December.
It promised to provide 110 million doses to the United States next year and 1.1 billion doses to developing countries.
In May of this year, the vaccine alliance Gavi announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase 350 million doses of Novavax vaccine, which is expected to begin delivery in the third quarter.
COVAX is a global initiative to provide vaccines to countries. After its largest Indian supplier suspended exports until the end of the year, the program is facing a serious shortage of vaccines.
Novavax has been committed to developing vaccines for more than 30 years, but has not yet brought them to market.
The company’s coronavirus vaccine work is partly funded by the US government.
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