Novavax vaccine: Virologist is surprised and also talks about possible side effects

The Novavax vaccine should bring a new boost to the vaccination rate. And convince skeptics. However, an expert draws a spectacular comparison with the vaccine.

Munich – Everyone would like an end to the Corona * pandemic. The vaccination rate in Germany is currently still too low. The Novavax vaccine is now seen as another big hope. Those who don’t want an mRNA vaccine now have an alternative. From February 21, 2022, the Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) from Novavax* will be available in Germany. The first batches are initially reserved primarily for employees in the health and care sector. Vaccination appointments for everyone may still take a while.

Novavax vaccine: expert on effectiveness against Corona

The effectiveness of this new vaccine is around 90 percent, according to Prof. Dr. André Gessner, microbiologist at the University Hospital Regensburg, tells the radio station Antenne Bayern . The protective function is similar to mRNA vaccines (about 95 percent).

Virologist Priv.-Doz. dr According to the radio station, Thomas Bollinger from the Bayreuth Clinic explains that Novavax probably also requires a third vaccination, as with the mRNA vaccines. How strong Novavax works against omicron is initially unclear. There is still too little data available. The World Health Organization (WHO) is covered. In view of the Omicron variant, the US pharmaceutical company Novavax announced before Christmas that “both a booster dose and an Omicron-specific vaccine could be useful.”

Virologist draws auto comparison with Novavax vaccine

Virologist Bollinger apparently has little understanding for Novavax’s preference and skepticism about the mRNA vaccines from Biontech/Pfize* and Moderna*: “Now the pharmaceutical industry has put a lot of money and know-how into the development of newer vaccines. They have prevailed over the old ones because they perform better. They’re just more effective. Of course, one wonders why so many long for old, not so good vaccines. (…) Only a few yearn for old cars.”

Novavax vaccine really an alternative to mRNA vaccines?

Although the Novavax vaccine is brand new, the process has been used in flu (influenza), hepatitis B and whooping cough vaccines for decades. A well-known and proven principle (quasi an old car in the sense of virologist Bollinger): protein particles (protein) injected into the upper arm trigger the immune response in the body.

Is Novavax an inactivated vaccine?

The Novavax vaccine contains tiny laboratory-made spike proteins of the coronavirus. After vaccination with Nuvaxovid, the immune system forms antibodies against the protein antigen and can thus ward off Covid 19 disease. The virus protein is grown in the laboratory, produced in insect cultures. It does not contain any killed virus components, which are obtained directly from the corona virus. That is why the Novavax vaccine is not one of the so-called dead vaccines, such as the Covid vaccine Valneva. By the way: mRNA and vector vaccines do not contain any reproducible viruses and “can be equated with dead vaccines,” explains the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Novavax vaccine needs an effect enhancer (so-called adjuvant)

However, the protein vaccine needs an effect enhancer – a so-called adjuvant – to boost the immune response in the body. Adjuvants can be aluminum salts (alum), but also oil-in-water emulsions. Novavax uses a new form of adjuncts made from saponins – from a soap tree extract.

The most common side effects of a Novavax vaccination

The Novavax vaccine is usually well tolerated. According to virologist Dr. Thomas Bollinger not yet known. However, in its safety information, the US company also advises, among other things, caution in people “with thrombocytopenia or another coagulation disorder (such as hemophilia) because bleeding or bruising can occur in these people after intramuscular administration.”

The most common side effects according to the data of the clinical approval study with around 30,000 participants:

Vaccination schedule for the Novavax vaccine

Two doses of Nuvaxovid must be given three weeks (21 days) apart. Full protection only occurs 7 days after the second dose.

Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine is packaged as a ready-to-use liquid formulation in a ten-dose vial. The vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

Corona: Approved Covid-19 vaccines in Germany (as of January 27, 2022)

The corona pandemic has determined everyday life in Germany for two years. Omikron is currently creating new dimensions in the infection process. All information in our news ticker*. (ml)*Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

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