Novavax announced on Thursday an 80% effectiveness for its Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17, and plans to submit this data to health authorities around the world “in the first quarter of 2022”.
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This two-dose vaccine was tested in clinical trials in the United States on more than 2,200 adolescents, at a time when the Delta variant was dominant. Some participants received the vaccine, others a placebo.
Side effects were usually pain at the injection site, headache, or fatigue. The few confirmed cases in the group of vaccinated teenagers turned out to be mild, the company also said.
“We believe Novavax’s vaccine offers a different technology and option for this younger population, given its well-established protein-based technology already used in other vaccines, and the positive responses against the variants,” said in a press release Filip Dubovsky, chief medical officer of this American company.
Novavax also announced plans to initiate clinical trials in younger age groups in the second quarter of 2022.
At the end of January, the company filed an authorization request for its vaccine for adults with the American Medicines Agency (FDA).
It is already licensed for adults in Europe, including France and Britain, and has received emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the United States, only the Pfizer vaccine is currently authorized in children and adolescents.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com