What happened
Apparently, Novavax's (NVAX 3.32%) deal with the U.S. government to supply 3.2 million doses of its NVX-CoV-2373 coronavirus vaccines announced Monday was a precursor to the jab's authorization. A media outlet reported the following day that Novavax is on the cusp of winning authorization for the vaccine -- also known by the brand name Nuvaxovid -- and the company's shares promptly rose by nearly 4%.
So what
In an article published early Tuesday afternoon, Politico.com wrote that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is going to grant Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for CoV-2373 in the very near future. The article's sources, "two people with knowledge of the matter," according to Politico, say this could come as early as Wednesday.
CoV-2373 is a protein-based vaccine. This is in contrast to the widely administered jabs made by Moderna and the partnership of Pfizer and BioNTech, which utilize mRNA-based technology to do their work. Both of those vaccine received their original EUAs in late 2020.
Neither the FDA nor Novavax has yet commented on Politico's report.
Now what
The once high-flying Novavax is now considered to be at the back of the pack among coronavirus vaccine developers.
This doesn't, however, mean that anyone should count the specialty biotech company out. The latest variants are very concerning, and the fight against this persistent scourge of an illness continues. The more weapons we have in the battle, the greater the chances of getting past the pandemic. Novavax can only benefit by being included in the arsenal of public health authorities in this country.
