A new vaccine from Novavax has been approved for COVID boosters. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which use mRNA (genetic material), this is a more traditional vaccine that just uses a protein like other traditional vaccines such as tetanus. For those with concerns about mRNA vaccines this provides an alternative. Even though it is made against the original strain of COVID, it apparently covers the BA.5 variant which is currently the predominant variant in the United States. Thus far, it seems to be well tolerated and tenderness at the injection site seems to be the main complaint. Here is the press release:
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday granted emergency use authorization to a booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine from Novavax.
The agency said people 18 and older can receive the booster six months after completing their primary series of any coronavirus vaccine authorized in the United States. Hours after the FDA announcement, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, signed a decision memo allowing use of the booster, the last step before the shots can be administered.
The emergency authorization means the Novavax vaccine can be used as a booster for the messenger RNA vaccines manufactured by Moderna and by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. The Novavax shot was developed using a more traditional, protein-based technology and was the first such coronavirus vaccine in the United States using that approach.
The updated mRNA boosters target the original coronavirus as well as the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, while the Novavax booster targets only the original strain. But the company has said its booster shot provides protection against several strains, including BA.5, which is the dominant version in the United States.
