Updated COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax that targets the JN.1 strain is approved by the FDA” On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the updated COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax for emergency use.
The modified vaccine, which targets the JN.1 strain of the virus, is approved for use in people 12 years of age and older.
Late afternoon trading saw a 5% increase in the company’s shares.
“The authorization granted today offers a supplementary COVID-19 vaccine choice,” stated Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA.
The KP.2 variant-focused COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna were approved by the health regulator earlier this month.
Earlier this year, JN.1 was the most common strain in the US. Although it is less common, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that it may have contributed to 0.2% of cases during a two-week period ending on August 31.
However, KP.3.1.1 is now dominating at 42.2 percent, with the KP.2 variant estimated to account for 3.1 percent.
The health regulator revised its strain recommendation for COVID-19 shots in 2024–2025 in June and requested that manufacturers modify the new vaccines to target the KP.2 variant rather than the JN.1 lineage, if possible.
For those who are dubious of the mRNA vaccines, Moderna’s Spikevax and Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty provide an alternative to Novavax’s conventional protein-based shot.
Over the last three months, there has been an increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths in the US.
The need for the vaccinations, however, has significantly decreased since the pandemic’s height. Although Novavax anticipates better performance, it expects the overall demand for COVID-19 vaccines in the United States to remain similar to that of the previous year, as it stated earlier this month.
