On the 12th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved the domestic use of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine of Novavax, a US pharmaceutical company. As a result, the Novavax vaccine became the 5th approved COVID-19 vaccine in Korea following AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen. It is expected that the actual vaccination will start in early February as soon as possible following the national release is approved.
The effectiveness of the Novavax vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is around 90% (89.7-90.4%). This vaccine is different from the four vaccines currently in use in Korea. It was developed using the synthetic antigen method used for hepatitis B and cervical cancer vaccines. Hwang Kyung-won, head of the vaccination planning team for the COVID-19 vaccination response promotion team, said, “The Novavax vaccine is a type of vaccine that has been used before, so I think people will be more at ease.”
For this reason, the quarantine authorities plan to use the Novavax vaccine first for regarding 3.6 million adults who are not vaccinated. However, it has not yet been proven whether the Novavax vaccine has fewer adverse reactions or side effects than the actual mRNA vaccine. Currently, a total of 40 million doses of Novavax vaccine secured by the government are produced at SK Bioscience’s Andong plant in North Gyeongsang Province.
Reporter Lee Ji-woon [email protected]
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