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| Novavax, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Maryland-based vaccine maker Novavax introduced a COVID-19 booster and flu combination vaccine candidate at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington. According to their study, their protein-nanoparticle vaccine Nuvaxoid showed responses against newer variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (BA.1, BA.4, and BA.5 of the Omicron variant). This vaccine performed similarly to the immune response of the approved mRNA vaccines.
The new widely spreading Omicron subvariant XB.1.5 is more advanced and the current vaccines are effective against the earlier strains rather than XB.1.5. The vaccine makers and FDA are working on an updated or next-gen COVID vaccine that could ideally target the variant.
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| Source: Novavax |
The combination vaccine of Novavax under investigation uses full-length, stabilized recombinant spike (rS) protein of the SARS-Co-2 virus, and wild-type recombinant Hemaggluttin (rHA) proteins from the influenza virus, as antigens. (Source: novavax.com).
