For the first time, a so-called dead vaccine against the coronavirus could be approved in the EU.
The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing the Novavax product.
Amsterdam - Almost a year after the start of the global vaccination campaign, the fight against the corona pandemic continues.
Another vaccine may be available soon.
The US manufacturer
Novavax
recently applied for approval for the European Union.
Especially in times of vaccination skepticism, the new remedy has a big argument on its side: The vaccine works with a proven principle that is also used in the flu vaccination.
Novavax: no vaccine like any other
On Wednesday (November 17), the responsible European Medicines Agency, EMA, confirmed the US manufacturer's official request. The vaccine, which is already being used in Great Britain, for example, now also wants to make the leap into the countries of the European Union. A team of experts will now check the manufacturer's data and weigh risks against benefits. A decision is expected in a few weeks, as the EMA announced in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.
The
Novavax
product called Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373), unlike the vaccines approved to date, is neither an mRNA vaccine - like the preparations from
Biontech
and
Moderna
- nor a vector vaccine like those from
Astrazeneca
and
Johnson & Johnson
: The vaccine contains tiny particles made from a laboratory-made version of the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein.
The immune system reacts to these tiny components and, like all other vaccines mentioned, creates a protection against the coronavirus.
The same process is used for flu vaccines.
Dead vaccine: topic of conversation in the Kimmich case
The EMA experts had already evaluated studies on the effect during the ongoing test procedure. A preliminary examination of possible risks has also been concluded. If the EMA recommends conditional marketing authorization, the EU Commission still has to give its final approval. But that is a matter of form. So far, four vaccines have been approved in the EU. The Novavax drug is also administered in two doses.
Especially in the course of the discussions about FC Bayern star Joshua Kimmich, the dead vaccine had become a topic of conversation over the past few weeks.
The national player had confirmed at the end of October that he had not yet been vaccinated against the corona virus and wanted to wait for a special vaccine.
Either way, the new preparation could contribute to an urgently needed increase in the vaccination rate in Germany.
(dpa / to)
