Coronavirus: Novavax says COVID-19 vaccine 90% effective in clinical trial

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine was 90% effective in a Phase 3 clinical trial, the company announced Monday morning.

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In a news release, the biotech company said its two-dose coronavirus vaccine candidate demonstrated 90.4% efficacy overall and 100% protection against moderate and severe illness during a study of nearly 30,000 participants in the United States and Mexico.

In the trial, researchers recorded 77 coronavirus cases, according to the release. Of those cases, 63 occurred in placebo recipients, while 14 occurred in those who received the vaccine, the company said.

Additionally, the vaccine was 93% effective against “predominantly circulating variants of concern and variants of interest”; 100% efficacy against variants “not considered variants of concern/interest”; and 91% effective in high-risk populations, according to the release.

The vaccine also was “generally well-tolerated” by recipients, the company said.

“Serious and severe adverse events were low in number and balanced between vaccine and placebo groups. No single adverse event term was reported by more than 1% of participants,” the release said, adding that the most common symptoms were injection site pain and tenderness, fatigue, headache and muscle pain.

According to The Associated Press, Novavax “plans to seek authorization for the shots in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere by the end of September.” So far, three coronavirus vaccines – made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – have received emergency use authorization in the U.S.

Read the release here.

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