Novavax, "Vaccine Effectiveness 89%... South Africa Variant Below 50%" (Summary)

85.6% Prevention Effectiveness Against UK-Origin Variant Virus

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

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

On the 28th (local time), according to foreign media including the AP News Agency, 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 events 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 efficacy of 85.6% against the variant virus originating from the UK. On the other hand, 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 "It appears that the vaccine's effectiveness is reduced against the South African variant virus."

A Novavax official stated, "It is encouraging that the vaccine shows high efficacy against the UK variant virus," and added, "We will quickly 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, it is concerning that Novavax's vaccine also shows reduced effectiveness against the South African variant virus," but added, "The only effective way to respond to variant viruses is to rapidly vaccinate and form herd immunity."

The Novavax vaccine is a ‘recombinant vaccine’ that induces an immune response by directly injecting antigen proteins into the body, using the most widely used vaccine platform to date. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which require storage at temperatures below freezing, the Novavax vaccine can be transported with refrigeration at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which is the temperature of a regular refrigerator.

Meanwhile, Novavax is a pharmaceutical company participating in the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine development program called ‘Operation Warp Speed’ and received about $1.6 billion (approximately 1.78 trillion KRW) from the U.S. government last July for vaccine development costs. Novavax is currently conducting Phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S. and Mexico since last month, following trials in the UK and South Africa.

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