U.S. adults seeking primary protection against coronavirus now have a fourth option, after Ceners for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, endorsed the Novavax vaccine on the advice of expert advisers. The Maryland-based manufacturer told CDC that slightly more than 1 million doses of its vaccine have been administered on a global basis as of June 30. The tally is much lower than for competing vaccines, and regulatory approval in the United States is not expected to have much immediate impact here, either.
Still, CDC estimates that as many as 37 million American adults have yet to be immunized against coronavirus, and Novavax hopes its vaccine might appeal to those who have declined the other options. Findings from a CDC survey suggest otherwise, however. According to the poll, just 16 percent of unvaccinated respondents reported they would “probably” or “definitely” get a protein-based COVID vaccine, such as Novavax’s. One-half of unvaccinated poll-takers responded that they “probably” or “definitely” would not sign on for a protein-based COVID vaccine.
Novavax said FDA has cleared the first doses of the vaccine for use in the United States, and the company plans to ship the vaccine to a distribution center “in the coming days.”