The World Health Organization has given emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine made by US-based Novavax and the Serum Institute of India, paving the way for its inclusion in the program to get such vaccines to poorer countries around the world.
The vaccine was long anticipated to help increase global vaccine supplies, as the shots require only refrigerated storage - an appealing option for low-income countries compared to other vaccines that require very cold storage.
The UN-backed COVAX program, which is shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries, has deals to receive some 1.35 billion Novavax doses produced by the Serum Institute, the world's largest vaccine maker that has a licence to produce it.COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognise the virus by spotting the spike protein that coats it but the Novavax option is made very differently than the most widely used shots.
Maryland-based Novavax uses genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the coronavirus spike protein in insect cells.Novavax was delayed for months because of problems lining up large-scale manufacturing.Australia will soon have drugs to treat COVID-19. Here's what you need to know Last summer, Novavax reported that a study of 30,000 people in the US and Mexico found the vaccine was safe and 90 per cent effective against symptomatic infection from earlier variants, similar to findings from a trial of 15,000 people in the UK.
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