SCIENCE AND REGULATION: The Novavax Vaccine, Finally.

A brief reminder of what this vaccine is, and how it differs from the others approved for use in the US. An easy way to summarize it would be to say that Novavax’s candidate is by far the most traditional vaccine that we’ve seen in this country so far. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are of course mRNA-based, and that’s a mode of action that had not been used in humans before. The J&J vaccine is an adenovirus vector, and that as well had never quite made it to prime time in human vaccination, either (the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was never offered in the US, is another adenovirus one). All of these have something in common: one way or another, they relay on the vaccinated patient’s cells to make the viral antigen Spike protein that set off the immune response. But the Novavax vaccine is a direct injection of that Spike protein itself, along with an adjuvant (a separate ingredient that excites the immune system further).

We already have vaccines like that on the market. . . . Novavax really is the first “classic” option to be offered in the US.

I know some people who didn’t want a mRNA vaccine who have been holding out for Novavax.