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Novavax for Ukraine: another vaccine from India. What you need to know about it

Health

Novavax coronavirus vaccine: efficacy, side effects. Photo: Pixabay

Novavax coronavirus vaccine: efficacy, side effects. Photo: Pixabay

American company Novavax Inc. states that its COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine has been highly effective.

The same vaccine is expected in Ukraine in July 2021. The medication will be produced at manufacturing facilities in India under US licensing agreements.

The Page has collected information about the efficacy and side effects of the medication.

A series of articles about coronavirus vaccines from The Page:

1

Vaccine efficacy

The Novavax vaccine was 96.4% effective against coronavirus and 86.3% against the British strain. According to the third phase of clinical trials, the Novavax vaccine is 100% effective in preventing the severe course of coronavirus disease. The third phase of research took place in the UK. The research involved more than 15,000 people aged 18 to 84 years. During the research, 106 infections with coronavirus were confirmed, 10 of them were in the group that received the vaccine and 96—in the group that received the placebo. Another 5 cases of severe coronavirus were recorded, all of them were in the group that received a placebo.

Along with this, Novavax is developing new vaccine formulations to protect against new mutations. The company plans to begin clinical trials of these vaccines in the Q2 of 2021.

2

How the medication works

The official name of the vaccine is NVX‑CoV2373. The vaccine was created on the basis of an inactivated (or "killed") coronavirus. When vaccinated with such a medication, the human body recognizes and remembers the antigenic composition of the virus, and in future contacts with the virus, it will be ready for all its possible manifestations.

The Novavax vaccine uses a specially designed spike protein that mimics the natural spike protein of the coronavirus. Important: the Novavax vaccine does not contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself, and therefore the vaccine cannot cause COVID-19 disease. The vaccine is administered intramuscularly. The full course consists of two doses.

The vaccine can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.

3

Side effects

The vaccine has not been tested in people under the age of 18. Therefore, only adults will be vaccinated with Novavax.

The most common side effects of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine are:

  • pain at the injection site,
  • rash,
  • headaches,
  • muscle pain,
  • fever,
  • nausea and vomiting.

Vaccine trials in the UK have not recorded a single serious side effect or death. However, in rare cases (for example, in 11 cases out of 18 million vaccinations), vaccines with a similar principle of action could cause anaphylaxis and a severe reaction. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention require vaccination points to monitor everyone within 15 minutes after vaccination and within 30 minutes if patients have a history of severe allergies or take a blood thinner.

4

Novavax vaccine in Ukraine

As Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov previously reported, Ukraine has agreed to supply 15 million doses of Novavax vaccine. Later Stepanov announced an additional 5 million doses.

"Another positive news from Indian Pune and the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute. We have successfully completed negotiations to increase the supply of the American vaccine NovaVax to Ukraine. We have been confirmed the possibility of supplying an additional 5 million doses of vaccines from this manufacturer. We will approve the agreement by signing a contract," Stepanov stated.

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