The New York Times, July 13, 2022 (with Rebecca Robbins)
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, a biotechnology company in Maryland that received significant federal funding to produce the shot. The vaccine will be a new option for Americans as vaccination rates stagnate.
After two years of development, the vaccine has finally overcome manufacturing problems to become the fourth shot to earn clearance in the United States. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet next week and are expected to discuss who should get the Novavax vaccine.
The two-dose vaccine was authorized as a primary immunization series for adults, rather than a booster, which is likely to limit its market at first. The Biden administration said earlier this week that it would buy 3.2 million doses, enough to fully vaccinate 1.6 million people in the United States. In announcing its purchase, the government said that Novavax was expected to finish its quality testing “in the next few weeks,” a necessary step before the doses are released. Continue reading “Novavax’s latecomer Covid-19 vaccine gets U.S. authorization.”