Novavax Expects Releasing Developed COVID-19 Vaccine by 4th Quarter

Novavax corporation said on Friday that it expects to start releasing its COVID-19 vaccine which targets the Omicron variant and sub-pisions by the fourth quarter of this year, Reuters reported.

In the same context, the FDA recommended COVID-19 vaccine producers develop their booster shots starting this fall to resist the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

Novavax predicts more pre-clinical data on its developed vaccine against Omicron subvariants in late summer or fall.

However, the drug-maker vaccine for earlier variants still unauthorized by the Food and Drug Administration.

On Tuesday, a panel of independent vaccine experts recommend that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorize the Novavax vaccine for giving second booster shots to the US residents.

The recommendation of the experts came a few days after the release of a report about the risk of heart inflammation risk.

Novavax is a protein-based vaccine that uses traditional technology against flu viruses. Therefore, many experts are interested in installing another traditional-technology based vaccine, especially after the latest restrictions imposed on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group and a paid consultant to Novavax Gregory Poland said: “It’s important to have choices in vaccine platforms in a pandemic that is constantly evolving.”

On his side, the FDA’s director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks explained: “Having a protein-based alternative may be more comfortable for some in terms of their acceptance of vaccine.”

Marks added: “I will use this as a moment on the bully pulpit to say: We do have a problem with vaccine uptake that is very serious in the U.S., and anything we can do to make people more comfortable to accept these potentially lifesaving products is something we are compelled to do.”

Last year, Novavax Inc, and Serum Institute of India applied to the World Health Organization (WHO) for having the emergency use approval for their COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax.

The corporation highlighted that the earliest productions of the vaccine will be dedicated to poor, and medium-income countries as the rest of rich and developed countries are depending on a wide collection of other vaccines to secure their residents.

The WHO may back the vaccine to be shipped to several countries that depend on WHO guidance for their pandemic related measures.