Novavax says its COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective, including for variants

Novavax, on Monday, said that its COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective, including against coronavirus variants. This was based on a large-scale US study.

The jab “demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease, 90.4% efficacy overall. The study enrolled 29,960 participants across 119 sites in the U.S. and Mexico to evaluate efficacy, safety and immunogenicity,” news agency AFP quoted the company as saying in a statement.

The company that is headquartered in Maryland said that it intended to apply for regulatory approval by the third quarter of 2021.

The company said it would be looking to make 100 million doses per month by the end of the third quarter and 150 million doses per month by the end of the year.

“Today, Novavax is one step closer to addressing the critical and persistent global public health need for additional COVID-19 vaccines,” news agency AFP quoted Stanley C. Erck, Novavax’s president and chief executive, as saying.

“Novavax continues to work with a sense of urgency to complete our regulatory submissions and deliver this vaccine, built on a well understood and proven platform, to a world that is still in great need of vaccines.”

Unlike some rival jabs, Novavax’s vaccine — formally known as NVX-CoV2373 — does not have to be stored at ultra-low temperatures.

The company said it was “stored and stable at 2°- 8°C, allowing the use of existing vaccine supply chain channels for its distribution.”