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The EU has approved a deal with Novavax to get up to 200 million doses of the company’s protein-based coronavirus vaccine after more than six months of talks, the Commission announced today.
EU countries will secure 100 million doses and have the option to purchase an additional 100 million doses until 2023.
The EU said it had completed “exploratory talks” with the company in December 2020, but the deal was delayed due to issues securing a delivery schedule and establishing the supply chain. European supply of the American company.
The Commission wrote today that the vaccines will be available in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022. Countries can also donate or sell the vaccines to other countries.
The vaccine uses a different technology than the mRNA and viral vector vaccines currently in use. It’s the same technology behind Sanofi’s vaccine – which the EU is expected to buy up to 300 million doses – but that shot has been delayed until the end of 2020.
“Our new agreement with Novavax expands our vaccine portfolio to include another protein-based vaccine, a promising platform in clinical trials,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides wrote in a statement.
The vaccine looks promising. In June, clinical trials showed it to be 90% effective in preventing cases of COVID-19, even with variants in circulation.
“As new variants of the coronavirus spread in Europe and around the world, this new contract with a company which is already successfully testing its vaccine against these variants is an additional guarantee for the protection of our population,” wrote the president of the Ursula von der Leyen Commission.
The European Medicines Agency is conducting an ongoing review of the vaccine and the company has yet to submit a formal marketing application for EU approval.
Although more than 70% of Europeans have already received their first dose, experts say receiving a different type of vaccine as a booster could help improve people’s long-term immunity to the virus.
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