(Reuters) (Reuters) Novavax Inc announced on Friday that it had begun work on a COVID-19 version that would target the variant that is found in South Africa. The shot would be ready for testing and manufacturing within the next few weeks.
The COVID-19 shot from the company contains an actual virus’ spike protein, which does not cause disease, but it can trigger the immune system. According to the vaccine developer, it had begun creating the spike protein based upon the genetic sequence of variant B.1.1.529.
“The initial work will take a couple of weeks,” a company spokesperson said.
Novavax’s vaccine received its first emergency approval in the middle of this month in Indonesia and then the Philippines.
The company has stated that it is on track to apply for U.S. approval by the end of the year. It has also filed for approvals in Canada and the European Medicines Agency.
German pharmaceutical company BioNTech SE and Johnson & Johnson have also stated that they are testing the effectiveness of their respective COVID-19 vaccines against the new version.
Content Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/963708?src=rss
