Novavax vaccine seems effective against virus in UK study

A member of the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation hailed the "very exciting news" on Thursday from Novavax Inc that its coronavirus vaccine appears 89% effective and that it seemed to work against new variants of the virus.

Novavax said that its COVID-19 vaccine appeared to be 89% effective based on early findings from a British study and that it also seemed to work - though not quite as well - against new mutated strains of the virus circulating in that country and South Africa.

The announcement came amid worry about whether a variety of vaccines being rolled out around the world will be strong enough to protect against worrisome new variants – and also the world needs new types of shots to boost scarce supplies.

Adam Finn, Professor at University of Bristol and member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the results were "very encouraging".

He told British broadcaster Sky News the vaccine still required approval from regulatory authorities, but suggested "I suspect they are well advanced with the process already as they were with the others (vaccines)."

The study of 15,000 people in Britain is still underway. But an interim analysis found 62 participants so far have been diagnosed with COVID-19 – only six of them in the group that got vaccine and the rest who received dummy shots.

The infections occurred at a time when Britain was experiencing a jump in COVID-19 caused by a more contagious variant.

A preliminary analysis found over half of the trial participants who became infected had the mutated version.

The numbers are very small but Novavax said they suggest the vaccine is nearly 96% effective against the older coronavirus and nearly 86% effective against the new variant.

(Image Credit: AP)