Will the vaccine turnaround now follow?
Doctor explains important difference between Novavax and other vaccines
Created: 02/24/2022, 11:32 am
By: Jennifer Lanzinger
The vaccine Novavax will soon be delivered to the federal states.
(Iconic image) © MiS/Imago
Vaccination with the Corona vaccine from Novavax will soon be possible in Germany.
But what exactly distinguishes the vaccine from previously available mRNA vaccines?
Berlin – The pace of vaccination in Germany is decreasing significantly.
On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 148,000 doses were administered in Germany.
This emerges from the data from the Robert Koch Institute.
On Tuesday a week ago, around 191,000 people were vaccinated against Corona.
The first deliveries of the Corona vaccine Novavax are expected in Germany from this week.
Could the pace of vaccination in Germany now increase significantly again?
A doctor explains the difference to the new vaccine.
Will the vaccine turnaround now follow?
Doctor explains difference between Novavax and other vaccines
According to the company, the first deliveries of the vaccine from Novavax are expected to arrive in the federal warehouse from Wednesday to Friday, according to the Ministry of Health on Monday.
The first delivery is expected to be 1.4 million doses.
They should be distributed directly to the countries, as a spokesman said.
The ministry assumes that vaccinations in the countries can start in the coming week.
It is planned that the vaccine will initially only be delivered to the federal states, not yet to medical practices.
It should be offered primarily to employees in the healthcare sector.
Many experts have high hopes for the vaccine.
It is hoped that Novavax could be an alternative for some who have not vaccinated with previous mRNA vaccines from Biontech and Moderna.
The Novavax vaccine is based on a more classic process.
In an interview with
ntv
, the physician Dr.
Christoph Specht the decisive difference between the vaccines.
Corona vaccine soon available in Germany - that's what makes the Novavax vaccine different
“The mRNA vaccines contain a small snippet of genetic code.
And this genetic code causes the human cell to make just part of this spike protein from the virus," explains Dr.
Woodpecker in the interview.
The protein-based vaccine from the manufacturer Novavax differs in exactly this point from the vaccines that have been used up to now.
"It's the case that the particle of the spike protein is already in the vaccine itself and the immune system then produces its defense against this particle".
The agent is a protein-based vaccine with viral antigen.
Specifically, Novavax uses the so-called spike protein of the Covid-19 pathogen Sars-CoV-2 for its vaccine and reproduces it en masse in insect cells.
After vaccination, the human immune system forms antibodies against the protein and can thus ward off Covid 19 disease.
In addition, the Novavax vaccine contains the substance saponin as a so-called adjuvant, which is intended to enhance the effect of the vaccination.
The expert finds it difficult to assess whether the Novavax vaccine will actually increase the pace of vaccination in Germany.
"I could imagine that many people used the excuse that there is no classic vaccine against corona to simply not get vaccinated," says Dr.
Woodpecker on.
The preparation is currently approved in the EU for all people over the age of 18, Stiko recommends two doses at least three weeks apart.
Excluded from the recommendation are pregnant and breastfeeding women for the time being due to a lack of data.
Meanwhile, a study shows: In rare cases, it is possible to be infected with two different subvariants of the omicron mutation one after the other.
