All you need to know about Novavax's Covovax vaccine

On Friday, the Serum Institute of India has applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) of US-based Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, Covovax. SII is already manufacturing another vaccine is known as Covishield in India. EU has already placed a deal with the makers of this vaccine. The European Commission has announced it has approved a deal that allows European Union (EU) member states to buy up to 200 million doses of Novavax's COVID-19 jab, once the European Medicines Agency (EMA) deems it safe and effective for use.

What is Covovax and how does it work?

The Novavax vaccine is a protein adjuvant. Novavax shot stimulates an immune response with a tiny piece of protein from a virus that is grown in cell culture. It is simpler to make than some of the other vaccines and can be stored in a refrigerator, which makes it easier to distribute than some of the other vaccines that have to store at a specific temperature. It is a 2-dose vaccine much like Covishield and Covaxin. It is yet to receive emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US.

The American vaccine maker, Novavax Inc, had announced a licence agreement with SII Pune for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and India.

When did the work for Covovax begin?

On June 25, SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla said that the company has this week begun manufacturing the first batch of Covovax.

At that time, he had posted a Tweet that said, "Excited to witness the first batch of Covovax [developed by @Novavax] being manufactured this week at our facility in Pune. The vaccine has great potential to protect our future generations below the age of 18. Trials are ongoing. Well done team @seruminstindia."

The clinical trials of Covovax had begun in India in March. At that time SII had indicated that this vaccine would be ready for launch by September 2021.

Currently, Novavax vaccine trials are going on for children in the country. These trials began in July this year. This will be the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to undergo a clinical trial for children in India.