FDA Advisers Back a New COVID-19 Vaccine, Made By Novavax

American adults who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 may soon get another choice, as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday backed a more traditional type of shot. Next, the FDA must decide whether to authorize the vaccine made by latecomer Novavax, a protein vaccine that’s made with a more conventional technology than today’s U.S. options. Novavax shots are already used in Australia, Canada, parts of Europe and dozens of other countries. But U.S. clearance is a key hurdle for the Maryland-based company. FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said another choice in the U.S. may entice at least some vaccine holdouts—whatever their reason—to consider rolling up their sleeves. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We do have a problem with vaccine uptake that is very serious in the United States,” Marks said. “Anything we can do to get people more comfortable to accept these potentially life-saving products is something that we feel we are compelled to do.” If the FDA authorizes Novavax as the nation’s fourth vaccine, it’s not clear how widely it would be used — at least right away. Only about 27 million U.S. adults remain unvaccinated. Eventually, Novavax hopes also to become a choice for the millions more who haven’t yet had a booster dose of today’s vaccines. The shots are used elsewhere as a booster, regardless of which vaccine people got originally. ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 wire Source Type: news