The Biden administration said Monday it secured 3.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax ahead of authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the vaccine will provide another option for Americans who’ve remained on the sidelines during the vaccine push.
“While more than two-thirds of the American public are already fully vaccinated, we must maintain a sense of urgency to ensure all eligible individuals get vaccinated, particularly heading into the fall. This latest vaccine would offer people another choice to help protect themselves from severe disease or hospitalization caused by COVID-19,” said Jason Roos, the chief operating officer for HHS’ Coordination Operations and Response Element, or H-CORE.
HHS said the purchase leverages an agreement the Trump administration struck with Novavax in July 2020.
Novavax — based in Gaithersburg, Maryland — was among several promising vaccine candidates in “Operation Warp Speed.” But if fell behind the mRNA shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and another option from Johnson & Johnson.
Manufacturing issues delayed its submission to the FDA. U.S. regulators could authorize the vaccine for emergency use in those aged 18 years or older any day now after independent advisers endorsed the shots in June. The vaccine is given in two doses, 21 days apart.
More than 200 million people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna shots, and tens of millions more have received boosters from those companies. The government’s Novavax purchase is relatively small in comparison, though the vaccine’s protein-based technology might appeal to some people.
The vaccine uses a very small amount of the virus spike protein, which sparks an immune response, in combination with an adjuvant, which boosts the immune system’s response to the vaccine. The technology has been used for decades in other vaccines, including ones that target hepatitis B and shingles.
Conversely, mRNA is being used widely for the first time.
“The Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine offers an option to individuals who may have an allergic reaction to mRNA vaccines or who have a personal preference for receiving a vaccine other than an mRNA-based vaccine,” HHS said in its news release.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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