Canada Approves "Novavax" COVID-19 Vaccine for Adults

Canada approved, on Thursday, the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 and over.

The announcement makes "Novavax" the fifth COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the country after AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

In a news release, Health Canada said the vaccine is 90% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective at preventing severe disease.

The health authority pointed out that preliminary and exploratory data show that the Novavax vaccine does produce neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant.

The vaccine is administered as a two-dose regimen of 5 mcg per dose, 21 days apart, according to the news release.

Last November, Health Canada approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Filomena Tassi, Canada’s minister of public services and procurement, said the first order is expected to begin arriving on Sunday, adding that the government was working with Pfizer on a second order.

In a news conference, Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, affirmed that this is very good news for adults and children alike.

“It provides another tool to protect Canadians and, to the relief of many parents, will help bring back a degree of normality to children’s lives, allowing them to more safely do the things that they have missed during the last 20 months,” Sharma added.