Novavax COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Canadian adults

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in adults 18 years of age and older in Canada.

Health Canada updated the list of approved COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday with Novavax’s product. Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson are the other vaccine makers that have COVID-19 jabs approved for use in Canada.

Novavax’s two-shot Nuvaxovid vaccine was not approved for use in people under 18 as its safety and effectiveness in younger people have not yet been established.

Health Canada said in a news release the vaccine was shown to have 90 per cent effectiveness at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100 per cent effectiveness at preventing severe disease.

The agency added preliminary data indicates Nuvaxovid does produce neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant.

The regulator recommends two doses of Nuvaxovid be given 21 days apart, based on evidence from clinical trials.

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Canada has committed to purchase 52 million doses of the vaccine, with an option to buy up to 24 million more doses.

Novavax’s protein-based vaccine is still being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but has received approvals from the European Union and the World Health Organization.

It has also been cleared for use in adults in countries including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

In February 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government secured a tentative deal with Novavax to allow the National Research Council-owned Royalmount facility in Montreal to produce its vaccine once it gets approved for use in Canada.

A major hurdle Canada has faced in its vaccine rollout is the fact that there’s no capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

— with files from Rachel Gilmore and Reuters