The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday signed off on Novavax’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine as a primary series for adults, offering people who are unvaccinated a choice to receive a shot based on conventional technology in use for more than 30 years.
The CDC’s committee of independent advisors voted unanimously to recommend the vaccine for people ages 18 and older after reviewing the shots’ safety and effectiveness during an hourslong public meeting Tuesday. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky backed the recommendation later in the evening, the final step in the U.S. authorization process.
The CDC, in a statement, said the vaccine will be available to the public in the coming weeks. The Biden administration has secured 3.2 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine so far, according to the Health and Human Services Department. The CDC’s approval completes a two-year journey for Novavax, one of the early participants in the U.S. race to produce a vaccine to protect against Covid-19. The small Maryland biotech company received $1.8 billion of taxpayer money from Operation Warp Speed, but struggled to get its manufacturing base in place and ultimately fell behind Pfizer and Moderna.