Novavax Covid-19 vaccine shows 85.6% efficacy

A trial conducted in the United Kingdom showed that Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine was 95.6% effective against the original Covid-19 strain and 85.6% effective against the new mutation B.1.1.7 that first was discovered in the UK. The vaccine however only showed a 60% efficacy against the mutation first identified in South Africa.

The company's vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, "is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants," Stanley Erck, Novavax president and CEO, said in an announcement. "NVX-CoV2373 has the potential to play an important role in solving this global public health crisis," he said.