

Novavax’s phase 3 clinical trial enrolled more than 15,000 participants between 18 and 84 years old, including 27% who were over the age of 65. There is data available from a different clinical trials, including the one mentioned above. Meaning, you could have more side effects with this vaccine than if you were to take a vaccine without an adjuvant. “Not all vaccines have adjuvants, but they tend to be more reactogenic,” Dr. An adjuvant, in case you’re not familiar with it, is an ingredient used in some vaccines that helps create a stronger immune response in people receiving the vaccine, per the CDC. Russo says the ingredients in the vaccine are pretty standard for traditional vaccines, with the exception of the adjuvant. The FDA notes that the vaccine may also contain small amounts of baculovirus and insect cell proteins and DNA.

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine contains the following ingredients, per the FDA: (Important to note: The Novavax vaccine will not cause COVID-19.) What’s in the Novavax vaccine? “With the Novavax vaccine, the majority of this process occurs outside your body,” he says. Then, your body develops antibodies in response to these cells.
#Nova vax ingredients code#
This approach is completely different compared to how the mRNA vaccines work, which give your cells the code to make the spike protein themselves, Dr. “It’s very similar to how the flu vaccine works,” Dr. an ingredient that helps the vaccine create a stronger immune response in your body. Then, the spike proteins are harvested and combined with an adjuvant, i.e. That virus infects insect cells, which pump out the spike protein. Its spike protein gene is inserted into an insect virus, called a baculovirus. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: The Novavax vaccine is a protein-based vaccine that’s engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Here’s how it works, per infectious disease expert Amesh A. But that’s where the similarities end, as the Novavax vaccine uses a totally different mechanism to provide protection from COVID-19.

Similar to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine, the Novavax vaccine requires two shots given three weeks apart. How does the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine work? It could be a little longer before the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is available for public use, but it’s understandable to have questions. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines didn’t find any cases of myocarditis or pericarditis in their clinical trials, but some cases surfaced after the vaccines were authorized. However, the vaccine was tested from December 2020 through September 2021, which was before the current dominant Omicron strains, like BA.2.12.1, were circulating.īriefing documents released by the FDA show that, out of 40,000 people who participated in the trial, there were six cases of inflammatory heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis. None of the people in the trial developed a moderate or severe COVID-19 infection. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is still available to the public under an emergency use authorization.Ī phase 3 clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the Novavax vaccine has a 90.4% efficacy in preventing mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 infection. Currently, two vaccines-Pfizer’s Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax-are approved for use. The vaccine is now the fourth COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in the U.S., although it won’t be made available to the public until the CDC gives its recommendations. “This uses a more standard, time-honored technology where you use viral parts injected into your body.” “This is going to be a boutique vaccine for those individuals that were uncomfortable with the mRNA vaccine and felt that they are were ‘experimental’ in nature and therefore chose not to get vaccinated,” says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. Uptake is expected to be fairly low: The Biden administration announced last week that it will buy just 3.2 million doses of the vaccine, which would vaccinated 1.6 million Americans.
#Nova vax ingredients series#
The vaccine, which is authorized for people who are 18 and up, has been authorized as a two-dose series and not a booster. Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan to meet next week and are expected to decide who the Novavax vaccine will be recommended for. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the U.S.
