Novavax: Large study finds COVID-19 shot about 90% effective

Vaccine maker Novavax said yesterday its shot was highly effective against COVID-19 and also protected against variants in a large, late-stage study in the US and Mexico.

The vaccine was about 90 percent effective overall and preliminary data showed it was safe, the company said.

While demand for COVID-19 shots in the US has dropped off dramatically, the need for more vaccines around the world remains critical.

The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world.

That help is still months away, however.

The company says it plans to seek authorization for the shots in the US, Europe and elsewhere by the end of September and be able to produce up to 100 million doses a month by then.

"Many of our first doses will go to low- and middle-income countries, and that was the goal to begin with," Novavax Chief Executive Stanley Erck said.

While more than half the US population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, fewer than 1 percent of people in the developing world have had one shot, according to Our World In Data.

Novavax's study involved nearly 30,000 people aged 18 and up in the US and Mexico.

Two-thirds received two doses of the vaccine, three weeks apart. The rest got dummy shots.

Side effects were mostly mild – tenderness and pain at the injection site, Erck said.