The new Corona vaccine, Novavax: You should know this

Another new coronavirus vaccine may be approved soon. US pharmaceutical company Novavax has applied for approval. The vaccine is a protein vaccine against Covid-19.

This is how the new inactivated vaccine Novavax works

There may be a fifth vaccine against Covid-19 soon. The American company Novavax has now applied for approval. The vaccine called Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) provides a high level of protection against Covid-19. The new vaccine is neither an mRNA nor a vector vaccine, but a protein vaccine.

Nuvaxovid is a dead vaccine. It contains small molecules made up of a laboratory version of the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein. The immune system reacts to these virus-like molecules and builds immune protection against the coronavirus. This means that one step is effectively skipped – protein replication. The immune system can produce antibodies to the coronavirus protein immediately after vaccination. The adjuvant in the vaccine is an adjuvant that is supposed to strengthen the immune reaction

As for storage, the Novavax vaccine can be stored in the refrigerator, similar to AstraZeneca - so the vaccine will be well suited for coronavirus vaccination at a family doctor.

High effectiveness of Novavax - also against Delta?

Before a vaccine is approved, it must go through a three-step process in which it is tested for efficacy and tolerability. The results published so far look promising. In a phase 3 study, according to Pharmazeutische Zeitung, the Novavax vaccine was 89.3% effective against the alpha variant. Ärzteblatt reported a protective effect of 96.4 percent. It is therefore slightly lower or equal to the mRNA vaccines from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna. Like most other vaccines, the new vaccine must be given twice to ensure complete protection from vaccination.

It is still unclear to what extent the vaccine protects against the infectious Delta variant. A lower level of protection could already be shown in the beta variant from South Africa. The effectiveness of the vaccine compared to this variant was much lower and was 55.4 percent in the phase 2 study.

Novavax: Less potent vaccine and immune responses

Unlike previous vaccines, the immune response and vaccination reactions to the Novavax vaccine are less robust than previously approved vaccines. Reactions such as pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache and pain in the extremities may occur after vaccination. The pain in the vaccinated arm was less severe. Similar to other vaccines, vaccination reactions such as pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, and pain in the extremities can occur afterward.

Studies have also shown that the flu vaccine can be given at the same time as the vaccine. With this double vaccination, injection site reactions occurred more frequently, and allograft reactions occurred even more frequently.