On Wednesday, U.S. regulators authorized a booster dose of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine.
As per ABC News, The Food and Drug Administration stated that the new booster option is for individuals aged 18 and older who are unable to receive the updated omicron-targeting Pfizer or Moderna boosters for medical or accessibility reasons or who would not otherwise receive a COVID-19 booster shot.
The FDA specified that the additional Novavax shot must be administered as a first booster at least six months after the completion of the primary shots and not to individuals who have already received one or more booster doses.
Initial two-dose shots for Novavax have been available since the summer. Novavax is a protein-based vaccine, unlike Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines that are available in the United States. About 48 percent of Americans who received their primary vaccines have never obtained that all-important first booster.
“Offering an additional vaccine option may assist enhance COVID-19 booster immunization rates among these individuals,” stated the CEO of Novavax, Stanley Erck. After the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likewise approved the decision.
U.S. health officials have been recommending Americans to receive these upgraded Pfizer and Moderna boosters to enhance protection against the most prevalent omicron strains prior to the anticipated winter surge. The new Novavax booster is manufactured using the business’s original formula; the company is still testing an omicron-targeted composition.
