The company Novavax today (14) released the results of the final phase of testing of a vaccine candidate against Kovid-19. A clinical trial based in the United States of America (USA) has shown that the vaccine is more than 90% effective against the disease and provides protection in case of variants.
The study involved 3,000 volunteers in the US and Mexico. The company will seek emergency authorization from US health authorities and will do the same in other countries in the third quarter of the year.
The company said that Novavax’s vaccine was more than 93 percent effective against major COVID-19 variants, which has been a matter of concern among scientists and public health officials.
During testing, the b.1.1.7 version, which was first discovered in the UK, became the most common version in the US.
Novavax also detected variants among study participants for the first time in Brazil, South Africa and India, Gregory Glenn, head of research and development at Novavax, told Reuters.
The vaccine was 91% effective among volunteers at high risk of severe infection and 100% effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of COVID-19. Glenn said it was about 70% effective against variants that Novavax was unable to detect.
“In practice, it is very important that the vaccine can protect against a virus that is circulating wildly” among the new variants, he said.
Novavax reported that the vaccine was generally well tolerated among participants. Side effects included headache, fatigue and muscle pain and were usually mild. A small number of participants reported side effects described as severe.
Novavax is on track to produce 100 million doses per month by the end of the third quarter of 2021 and 150 million doses per month by the fourth quarter of 2021.
