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By: FEDweek StaffService members now have a fourth alternative to the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Covid-19 vaccines.
“With the availability of the Novavax vaccine, we are pleased to have another tool to help combat the spread of Covid-19,” said Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, Army Surgeon General and commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Command. “The Novavax vaccine is something called a ‘recombinant protein vaccine.’ These types of vaccines have been used since the 1980s.”
“Novavax may accommodate those with sincerely held beliefs or who felt limited in their options with the previous vaccine offering,” said Maj. Gen. Sharon Bannister, Air Force Surgeon General and medical operations director.
Other such vaccines have protected people from shingles, hepatitis B, and human papillomavirus, Dingle said. The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval of Novavax use for Covid-19 in mid-July, for patients age 18 and older. He added that the Novavax vaccine functions more like a traditional vaccine.
“The injection gives your body a part of the virus. In this case, it’s giving you one protein – the spike protein,” said Dr. Steven Cersovsky, deputy director of the Army Public Health Center. “And it allows your body to generate an immune response to that protein.”
Novavax is administered in two doses and does not have a recommended booster. It has been used widely in Europe, with considerable success in prevention of Covid-related disease, hospitalization and deaths.
Soldiers who agree to take the Novavax vaccine will be considered in compliance with the Covid-19 vaccination mandate.
“Our number-one priority is protecting the health and welfare of our greatest assets – our soldiers, our family members, and our Army civilians,” Dingle said. “We will continue to ensure that our personnel have the most accurate information on protective measures they can take to reduce the spread of Covid-19.”
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