This illustration taken on January 16, 2022, shows a vial labeled “Novavax V COVID-19 Vaccine.”
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
The Food and Drug Administration authorized NovavaxThe FDA's updated protein-based COVID-19 vaccine will be released Friday for emergency use in people 12 and older, paving the way for the shot to compete with Pfizer and ModernVaccines this fall and winter.
Novavax’s vaccine targets the highly contagious JN.1 omicron subvariant that began circulating widely in the United States earlier this year. JN.1 accounted for just 0.2% of cases circulating nationwide as of this week, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Novavax makes protein-based vaccines, which cannot be quickly updated to target another strain of the virus.
Nevertheless, the biotech company has noted that its vaccine provides protection against the JN.1 descendants that are currently dominant in the United States, including KP.2.3, KP.3, KP.3.1.1 and LB.1.
Novavax shares rose more than 5% on Friday following the announcement. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the authorization.
The FDA’s decision comes just a week after it approved a new round of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target another JN.1 variant called KP.2. Last year, the agency authorized Novavax’s vaccine nearly a month after authorizing rivals’ vaccines, putting the company at a disadvantage.
Public health officials see the Novavax vaccine as a valuable alternative for people who don’t want to get the mRNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna, which use a newer vaccination method to teach cells to make proteins that trigger an immune response against Covid. The Novavax vaccine, meanwhile, fights the virus using protein-based technology, a method that’s been used for decades in routine vaccinations against hepatitis B and shingles.
It is unclear how many people will receive a new Covid vaccine this fall and winter.
Only about 22.5% of American adults have received the latest round of vaccines that came out last fall, according to CDC data through early May.
