Vial of the Phase 3 Novavax coronavirus vaccine is seen ready for use in the trial at St. George's University hospital in London.
Covid-19 vaccine developed by the US-based biotechnology company Novavax is highly effective against the contagious disease in a large study and also protects against variants, PTI reported the vaccine maker as saying.
The vaccine was about 90 per cent effective overall and preliminary data showed it was safe, the company said.
While demand for COVID-19 shots in the US has dropped off dramatically, the need for more vaccines around the world remains critical.
The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world. That help is still months away, however.
The company says it plans to seek authorization for the shots in the US, Europe and elsewhere by the end of September and be able to produce up to 100 million doses a month by then.
"Many of our first doses will go to … low- and middle-income countries, and that was the goal to begin with," Novavax Chief Executive Stanley Erck told The Associated Press.
While more than half of the US population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, less than 1 percent of people in the developing world have had one shot, according to Our World In Data.
Novavax's study involved nearly 30,000 people ages 18 and up in the US and Mexico.
Last week, Novavax was found effective against Coronavirus' B1351 variant, first identified in South Africa, results of a trial showed.
The Phase 2b randomised, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial conducted in South Africa evaluated efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in healthy adults, and in a small cohort of medically stable adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The Novavax vaccine demonstrated an overall efficacy of 49 per cent in the initial analysis. Among healthy adults without HIV, the Novavax vaccine demonstrated efficacy of 60 per cent in the initial analysis, and 55 per cent in the subsequent complete analysis.
What is Novavax vaccine for Covid
NVX-CoV2373 is a protein-based vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease. The company is also expected to apply for US authorisation in the next few weeks.
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