Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is 89 percent effective, but much less so against South African strain

Novavax vaccine results released
(Image credit: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images)

Novavax, a biotech firm based in Maryland, announced Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine was 89.3 percent effective at protecting people from the disease in Britain, including against a new and more infectious strain now dominant in the U.K., but only 49 percent effective in a smaller trial in South Africa. More than 90 percent of the South African subjects who got sick were infected with the new strain, according to preliminary results. Novavax announced the interim results of its Phase 3 U.K. study and Phase 2 trial in South Africa in a press release.

Novavax's findings were a sobering signal that the current vaccines won't work as well against the new variants. The company's vaccine appeared to be 95.6 percent effective against the original strain of the coronavirus but 85.6 percent effective against the U.K. variant. Novavax also said its vaccine was 60 percent effective in its South African trial if you excluded the subgroup with HIV. It is already working on a modified version of its vaccine to specifically target the South African variant, which was first confirmed have hit the U.S. on Thursday.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.