How effective is this new vaccine? And what makes Novavax different from the others? Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is the Novavax Vaccine?
“The Novavax vaccine is an immunorophylactic, or a substance that trains the immune system against a pathogen that can cause disease, in this case, against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” says Dr. J. Wesley Ulm, PhD, a US-based Clinician, Medical Researcher, and Bioinformatics Expert at Harvard Medical School Hospital System, explains. “It works using a different mechanism from the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and J&J vaccines already approved and available for COVID.” Novavax is considered a more traditional vaccine compared to the others. “It contains lab-manufactured COVID-19 viral proteins and an immune booster that train the body to respond to the infection, as opposed to the mRNA vaccines, which contain instructions for our bodies to manufacture those proteins and then train itself,” says Dr. Luis Osrosky, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist, UT Health Houston/Memorial Hermann Hospital. Unlike the first two, which are mRNA vaccines that package what is essentially an expression cassette for the viral spike protein into lipid nanoparticles, and the third vaccine, which packages spike protein-expressing DNA into another virus called an adenovirus, the Novavax vaccine actually uses more traditional technology already employed for other common immunizations—for example for influenza and HPV, the virus that can cause cervical cancer, Dr. Wes explains. It utilizes a modified gene to express fragments of the spike protein within another virus called a baculovirus. This baculovirus is used to infect moth cells, from which the spike proteins are harvested and packaged into nanoparticles that are injected into a patient, Dr. Wes adds. Unlike the other vaccines, which contain nucleic acids that express the coronavirus spike protein, the Novavax vaccine contains only the protein itself in association with the nanoparticles.
What Does the Novavax Vaccine Protect Against?
Much like the other vaccines, the Novavax vaccine prevents cases of COVID-19, and if patients have a breakthrough infection, cases are milder and the vaccine prevents hospitalization and death from the disease, Dr. Ostrosky states. However, it’s important to note that this vaccine’s effectiveness may change over time depending on the new variants that emerge. “As with the other vaccines, a limitation is that SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating, so the Novavax vaccine’s efficacy against newer COVID variants may vary,” says Dr. Wes.
Side Effects of the Novavax Vaccine
Most reported side effects of the Novavax vaccine are minor. Dr. Wes provides a list of what you can expect:
Soreness and swelling at the injection siteHeadacheFatigueNausea (occasionally)
Severe side effects are rarer but can include pronounced allergic reactions in a subset of patients. Also, the viral spike protein is known to be a potential cause of myocarditis, which has been seen with the other vaccines and can potentially occur with the Novavax vaccine as well. However, it should be noted that the circulating dose of spike protein from the Novavax vaccine is far lower than what a patient would experience from an active infection with replicating virus.
When Novavax Will Be Available
The Novavax vaccine has long been available in many European and Asian countries, and recently gained the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration in July of 2022 after the company solved a number of manufacturing issues, Dr. Wes explains. The next steps involve some additional safety testing and being greenlit by the CDC, and it will likely be available for Americans within a few weeks. Next up: This Easy 15-Minute Practice May Treat Side Effects of Long COVID
Sources
Dr. J. Wesley Ulm, US-based Clinician, Medical Researcher, and Bioinformatics Expert at Harvard Medical School Hospital SystemDr. Luis Ostrosky, Infectious Disease Specialist, UT Health Houston/Memorial Hermann Hospital
