A coronavirus vaccine developed by the US firm Novavax has been shown to be 89 per cent effective in preventing covid-19 in phase III clinical trials.
The vaccine is made from nanoparticles containing spike proteins from the virus, which are produced by genetically modified insect cells. The nanoparticles cannot replicate or cause covid-19, but they enable the body鈥檚 immune system to recognise the viral proteins and make antibodies against them.
The vaccine is given as two doses, but unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, it is stable for up to three months in a normal fridge.
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The UK has secured 60 million doses of the vaccine, which will be manufactured in Teesside, UK, and should be available in the second half of this year if it is approved by regulators.
More than 15,000 people in the UK took part in the clinical trial, which was supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research. Some 27 per cent of those that took part were over the age of 65.
The study assessed how effective the vaccine was when transmission of covid-19 was high in the UK, and with the coronavirus聽variant identified in the UK circulating widely.
The analysis, based on the first 62 cases of covid-19 identified in the trial, reported 56 cases in people given a placebo while six cases were in those given the vaccine.
More than 50 per cent of the reported cases were related to the UK variant of the virus, with the vaccine offering 86 per cent protection against it. Against the original variant that has circulated since the start of the pandemic, the vaccine was 96 per cent effective.
鈥淭his is positive news and, if approved by the medicines regulator, the Novavax vaccine will be a significant boost to our vaccination programme and another weapon in our arsenal to beat this awful virus,鈥� said UK health secretary Matt Hancock.
The trial also included an arm in South Africa, where most cases were caused by another new, more transmissible, variant first identified in the country.
The vaccine was 60 per cent effective in preventing mild, moderate and severe covid-19 among those without HIV. Including the HIV positive participants, whose immune systems are compromised, the overall protection was just over 49 per cent.
快猫短视频s continue to be concerned about whether聽current vaccines will work聽as well against the South African variant of the virus, as well as one that has been identified in Brazil.
Novavax plans to immediately begin development on a vaccine specifically targeted to the South African variant.
