Novavax vaccine effective vs COVID-19 variants – expert

MANILA, Philippines — There’s a good chance that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by American drug firm Novavax could provide immunity against the other variants of the disease, a health expert revealed yesterday.

Speaking at the online Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum, Dr. Luningning Villa, medical director of Faberco Life Sciences Inc., said Novavax’s Covovax has seen high efficacy rates against various COVID-19 strains.

The Philippine government is trying to secure 30 million doses of Covavax, which was developed by Novavax and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

Villa said the vaccine is said to be 95.6 percent effective against COVID-19 caused by the original coronavirus, 85.6 percent against the United Kingdom (UK) variant and 60.1 percent against the South African variant.

Citing the clinical trials, she said thousands of people aged 18 and up – including the elderly aged 60 to 84 – from the UK, South Africa, the United States and Mexico were inoculated with Covovax.

Noting that the UK and South African variants were emerging when Novavax conducted its trials, Villa said: “92 percent of COVID-19 cases were (infected with) the South African variant. Also, 52 percent of COVID-19 cases had the UK variant.”

Novavax’s clinical trials also showed that those inoculated with Covovax exhibited antibody response that is “three to four times higher than those who recovered from COVID-19,” she said.

Given the demographics, Villa said Covovax could present promising results in its use for the elderly since the vaccine could be “well tolerated” by people beyond 60 years old.

Two doses of Covovax which requires only two to eight degrees Celsius storage temperature must be given within 21 days.

Covovax was developed using recombinant technology, which uses spike proteins – or the spikes seen in the COVID-19 coronavirus model said to be used for easier entry to the body – and an adjuvant that would trigger the body’s immune response.

Faberco Life Sciences Inc. has partnered with Novavax and SII to bring the vaccines to the country.

National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. is currently in India, aiming to clinch a supply deal with Novavax and SII for 30 million vials for the country.