European Medicines Agency green lights Novavax Covid booster

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given the green light to the use of Novavax's Covid-19 shot as a booster for adults, ahead of an expected spike in infections this coming winter.

The vaccine, named Nuvaxovid, targets the original strain of the virus that emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The EMA recommends the booster for those previously inoculated with any Covid vaccine.

In a separate development, the EMA also gave its backing to two other Covid-19 boosters which are updated to target the Omicron variant.

Read more: How lateral flow testing can mitigate the spread of other infectious diseases

Developed by Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership, these new so-called bivalent shots combat the original virus strain, as well as the BA.1 Omicron strain.

Novavax's Nuvaxovid debuted some time after the first set of Covid shots, including those from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, received approval in different parts of the world.

Nuvaxoid is based on technology that has been used for decades to combat diseases such as influenza and hepatitis B. The hope is that the vaccine will incentivise those people who were sceptical about the newer shots based on mRNA tech to receive a jab.

Nonetheless, demand has been weak. Last month the US-based drug maker Novavax cut its annual revenue forecast by half, based on limited demand for its shot as a primary course.

Read more: EU & Spain's HIPRA sign joint procurement deal for Covid vaccines

As a booster for people who have previously received other vaccines, it could still offer the potential of a broader spectrum of protection, some experts have suggested.

Back to Homepage

Back to Healthcare