Novavax "COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness 89%"

"No Serious Side Effect Cases Reported"
South Africa Variant Less Than 50% Effective

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company Novavax has been found to have an efficacy rate of 89%. However, its effectiveness against the variant virus originating from South Africa was below 50%.

According to foreign media including the AP on the 28th (local time), Novavax announced that its COVID-19 vaccine showed a preventive efficacy of 89.3% in clinical trials. This is a preliminary result from a Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the UK involving about 15,000 participants aged 18 to 84. Novavax reported that no serious adverse effects were observed.

Stanley Erck, CEO of Novavax, commented on the clinical trial results released that day, saying, "We expect our vaccine to play a decisive role in resolving the COVID-19 pandemic," and added, "We will strive to supply it as quickly as possible."

The vaccine also showed preventive effects against some variant viruses. It demonstrated an 85.6% efficacy against the variant virus originating from the UK. In contrast, the efficacy against the South African variant virus was only 49.4%. Novavax explained, "Among the confirmed cases participating in the clinical trial conducted in South Africa, 90% were infected with the South African variant virus," and added, "It appears that the preventive effect against the South African variant virus is reduced."

A Novavax official stated, "It is encouraging that the vaccine shows high efficacy against the UK variant virus," and added, "We will rapidly develop an improved vaccine to respond to the South African variant virus." They also mentioned plans to test the improved vaccine within the second quarter of this year. The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Following the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, the fact that Novavax's vaccine also shows reduced efficacy against the South African variant virus is concerning," but noted, "Only rapid vaccination to form herd immunity is an effective way to respond to variant viruses."

The Novavax vaccine is a ‘recombinant vaccine’ that induces an immune response by directly injecting antigen proteins into the human body, using the most widely used vaccine platform so far. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which require storage at temperatures below freezing, the Novavax vaccine has the advantage of being transportable with refrigeration only.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.