Novavax highly effective in UK trial, but drops against S.Africa variant

Novavax said that final data from a trial in the United Kingdom shows its COVID-19 vaccine is almost 90 per cent effective, but the vaccine was far less effective in a separate trial in South Africa

Novavax on Thursday said that final data from a trial in the United Kingdom shows its COVID-19 vaccine is almost 90 per cent effective, but the vaccine was far less effective in a separate trial in South Africa, given the virus variant there that has raised concerns about weakening vaccines.

According to The Hill, The data from the UK trial was very strong and similar to interim data released in January. The final data showed the vaccine is 96 per cent effective against the original virus strain, and 86 percent effective against the variant identified in the UK, for the overall effectiveness of 89.7 percent.

In South Africa, where a concerning variant is highly prevalent, the effectiveness was far lower, at 48.6 percent, though it was a little higher, at 55 percent, among people who did not have HIV.

Many experts pointed to strong effectiveness against severe cases across multiple vaccines as among the most important data points, given that keeping people out of the hospital and preventing them from dying is the ultimate goal.

The company said it "expects the data to serve as the basis for submission for authorization to various regulatory agencies worldwide."

The Hill reported that It was not clear if the Maryland-based company would apply right away for US authorization, or wait for an ongoing US trial to finish.

"We are very encouraged by the data showing that [the vaccine] not only provided complete protection against the most severe forms of the disease but also dramatically reduced mild and moderate disease across both trials," Novavax CEO Stanley Erck.

He added, "Importantly, both studies confirmed efficacy against the variant strains.