FDA Advisory Committee Greenlights New Novavax COVID Vaccine
An independent advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday advised granting emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) for individuals age 18 and older.With 21 committee members voting in favor and one abstaining, the decision cleared the way for the United States to have a new immunization option for protection against the novel coronavirus.The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines rely on a relatively new technology that uses mRNA, whereas the Novavax shot is a protein-based vaccine (similar to the flu shot); public health advisers hope its proven development technique will persuade many who are unvaccinated to finally get their shots.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 27 million U.S. adults have not yet received any form of COVID-19 vaccination.“The Novavax…