Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine could convince people hesitant to get vaccinated, commented the management of the American company, the first doses of the serum of which are expected in France in the coming days.
Read alsoCould the new Novavax vaccine convince the last recalcitrants?
Novavax's vaccine, which does not use messenger RNA technology, unlike those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, "
is an option that may convince some, who have been hesitant, to receive their first dose
", said estimated by AFP Silvia Taylor, world director for American Biotech.
"
Primary vaccination is still important
", she further underlined, while in many countries in the world, the vaccination rate remains very low.
Sold under the name Nuvaxovid, the Novavax vaccine, which must be delivered from Monday February 21 in France, is said to be “
subunit
”.
It contains a component of the virus (and not the whole virus like the most classic vaccines), introduced into the body to trigger an immune response.
First deliveries
This serum was approved by the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) in mid-January, after authorization from Brussels in December.
However, Nuvaxovid cannot be used as a booster dose, for lack of a clinical trial, and must therefore be administered as a primary vaccination.
For France, the Ministry of Health assured Tuesday that the first delivery must be 1.14 million doses.
600,000 doses will be sanctuarized for Overseas, according to the ministry, with an initial shipment of around 100,000 doses, corresponding to requests made on site.
France is due to receive 3.2 million doses of Novavax in the first quarter.
In all, Novavax expects the production of 2 billion doses in 2022. The first doses delivered to Europe were produced by its partner in India, the Serum Institute of India, said Silvia Taylor, who said she was opposed. to lifting patents on vaccines in the face of inequalities between countries.
“
We think it's important to do what we've done: partner with organizations around the world like the Serum Institute of India.
Patent protection is vital
,” she commented.
Faced with unequal access to vaccine doses, the World Health Organization announced on Friday that six countries in Africa had been chosen to host their own production of messenger RNA vaccines.
