The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine from Novavax is more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, Reuters reports.
Novavax launched a late-stage trial of its vaccine in the US and Mexico toward the end of 2020. According to the company, results from the nearly 30,000-person study indicate that its protein-based vaccine, which is given in a two-dose regimen, is 100 percent effective in preventing moderate and severe disease and has an overall efficacy of 90.4 percent. Additionally, it reports that its vaccine is also highly effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern or interest. Novavax says it plans to seek regulatory authorizations in the third quarter of the year.
"It's very important for the world's population to have, yet again, another highly efficacious vaccine that looks in its trial to have a good safety profile," Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House chief medical advisor, tells the Washington Post.
As the Post notes, the vaccine may have a larger effect on the pandemic outside the US, as the regulatory process in the US is usually slower. Further, it adds that the company has pledged 1.1 billion vaccine doses to COVAX, the international vaccine effort.