FDA Approves New COVID Vaccine

(RxWiki News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new vaccine for COVID-19.

The FDA approved the new vaccine, called the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted, for emergency use in adults.

Vaccines remain the most effective protection against COVID-19, and this new vaccine adds to the options Americans have to get vaccinated, the FDA said.

“Authorizing an additional COVID-19 vaccine expands the available vaccine options for the prevention of COVID-19, including the most severe outcomes that can occur such as hospitalization and death,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf, in a press release. “Today’s authorization offers adults in the United States who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine another option that meets the FDA’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”

This new vaccine, from drug maker Novavax, met the FDA’s standards for an emergency use authorization (EUA). While this means that the vaccine appeared to be safe and effective in clinical trials, the FDA will continue monitoring this vaccine for any potential issues.

Like some of the previously approved COVID-19 vaccines, this vaccine is a two-dose series. But unlike the previously approved vaccines, this one contains an extra ingredient called an adjuvant.

Some vaccines include adjuvants to make them more effective at preventing infection.

“The American public can trust that this vaccine, like all vaccines that are used in the United States, has undergone the FDA’s rigorous and comprehensive scientific and regulatory review,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a press release.

If you have questions about any of the available COVID-19 vaccines, reach out to your doctor or community pharmacist.