Novavax -- the Covid-19 vaccine you may not have heard of

 

The American biotechnology company Novavax announced on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine candidate was found to have an overall efficacy of 90.4% in a Phase 3 trial that enrolled 29,960 adults across the United States and Mexico.   Additional analyses of the trial are ongoing, according to the company, and will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication.   The trial results appear consistent with the efficacy and safety profile the vaccine previously showed in a Phase 3 trial conducted in the United Kingdom, Dr. Gregory Glenn, president of research and development for Novavax, told CNN.   "Different continent, different population, different viruses floating around, and yet, we still see really good efficacy," Glenn said. "This is what you want to have."   Like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Novavax vaccine consists of two doses taken weeks apart.   The company said the vaccine was "generally well-tolerated" and common side effects included pain at the injection site, lasting less than three days, and fatigue, headache and muscle pain, lasting less than two days.   During the study, 77 Covid-19 cases emerged among participants; 63 of the cases were in people in the placebo group and 14 were in the vaccine group. All the cases in the vaccine group were mild, the company said.   There were 10 moderate and four severe cases in the placebo group, demonstrating a vaccine efficacy of 100% against moderate or severe disease, according to Novavax.   Novavax researchers also took a close look at sequencing data for 54 of the 77 Covid-19 cases in the study. Based on their sequencing of those cases, the company announced that the "vaccine efficacy was 93.2%" against variants of concern or of interest.   Novavax plans to apply in the US for emergency use authorization of its vaccine in the third quarter of this year and is "on track" to manufacture about 100 million doses per month by the end of the third quarter.