- The Novavax coronavirus vaccine is nearly 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19.
- It was less effective at preventing infections caused by the B.1.351 variant dominating in South Africa.
- The vaccine, which produces a robust immune response, was effective at preventing severe cases of COVID-19.
Results from two clinical trials evaluating Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine show the shot is nearly 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19.
The vaccine worked well against all variants but was less effective at preventing infections caused by the B.1.351 variant dominating South Africa.
One of the trials, conducted in the United Kingdom, found the vaccine to be effective against the highly transmissible variant B.1.1.7, which was detected in the country in late December.
The other clinical trial took place in South Africa, where cases are largely linked back to the B.1.351 variant.
According to a press release published Thursday by Novavax, the vaccine did confer protection against the South African variant. Still, it was less powerful at preventing infections caused by B.1.351 than the original variants.
Efficacy dropped to 60 percent when tested primarily against the B.1.351 variant in South Africa.
Still, the findings are promising and show the vaccine produces a robust immune response capable of identifying and targeting new variants.
“This is the first COVID-19 vaccine for which we now have objective evidence that it protects against the variant dominating in South Africa,” Professor Shabir Maddi, the principal investigator in the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial in South Africa, stated in the press release.
The full analysis of the vaccine’s safety and efficacy has not yet been published.
Source: healthline