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Is There Room for Another Covid Vaccine: Novavax Becomes the Test
(Thursday, June 9, 2022) More than a year and half after the approval of the first two Covid vaccines, Novavax seems to be finally getting ready to secure its own EUA for its Covid vaccine, but is it too late to the market? The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have taken up a seemingly unsurmountable position in the market, in terms of the number of vaccinations and wider access. More than 70% of the population in the US has been vaccinated and the vaccinations have been proven to be very safe and effective in curbing serious disease. The remaining population does not seem inclined to be vaccinated in any case. In such circumstances, a new vaccine would seem to have practically no demand. The Novavax vaccine uses a more traditional protein-based approval, compared to the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, and it has been speculated that many people who are hesitant with the mRNA vaccines may opt for the Novavax version. But that be a rosy presentation of the circumstances, at best. The Novavax vaccine is based on recombinant proteins and not the traditional live growth technology. So, for the skeptics of new technologies, the Novavax vaccine should raise its own issues. Plus, the rare incidences of heart inflammation observed in the clinical trials, should turn any skittish recipient further away. As was seen with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, “not mRNA” is not a good enough reason to encourage the anti-vaxers to vaccinate. If Novavax fails in the US market, it would confirm that there is no room for another vaccine in the US, period. 
AUTHOR
Dr. Mukesh Kumar Founder & CEO, FDAMap Email: [email protected] Linkedin: Mukesh Kumar, PhD, RAC Instagram: mukeshkumarrac Twitter: @FDA_MAP Youtube: MukeshKumarFDAMap |
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