The vaccine against Covid-19, produced by the American laboratory Novavax, received on Monday, December 20, 2021 the green light from theEuropean Medicines Agency (EMA) for people over 18 years old. This vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, is the fifth authorized on European territory since the start of the pandemic. What are the particularities of this new vaccine? How could he protect us from the Omicron wave?
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[EN VIDÉO] Why are we more afraid of vaccines than of drugs? Nearly one in four French people refuse to be vaccinated. Most people, however, are not reluctant to swallow medication. Where does this difference come from ?
In France, there are still 6 million unvaccinated people. This is only 10% of the adult population, and yet … it weighs heavily in the balance! Among these 10% are fragile people, likely to develop a serious form of the disease and to occupy a bed of resuscitation. In addition, unvaccinated people promote the circulation of virus and therefore theemergence new variants, potentially more dangerous and more contagious. With the arrival of the variant Omicron in Europe, the new Novavax vaccine could well allow better vaccine protection. Explanations.
How could the Novavax vaccine appeal to antivaccines?
The constraints linked to the health pass and perhaps soon to the vaccination pass do not seem to be enough to convince the 10% of unvaccinated French people. It is very often the principle of the mRNA vaccine, innovative technology used by brand vaccines Pfizer and Moderna, which is called into question. Some people mistakenly believe that mRNA vaccines have the ability to modify our genetic code.
New vaccine Nuvaxovid from the firm Novavax very recently authorized by theEuropean Medicines Agency (EMA) is based on a much more traditional method, commonly used in vaccination history. The vaccine contains protein which mimic the famous Spike protein to trigger the production ofantibody by the body. This technology is the one used by vaccines against whooping cough and againstHepatitis B. There is therefore no need to question this new vaccine.
Can the vaccine help Europe fight Omicron?
During the clinical tests carried out on the Novavax vaccine, the major variants were the Alpha and Beta variants. We therefore do not have data on the efficacy of the vaccine on the new variants that are Delta and Omicron. However, if this vaccine makes it possible to obtain vaccine protection close to 100%, it will be of great help in the fight against the Omicron variant and, more generally, against the occurrence of new variants. Indeed, even if the vaccines currently available are not 100% effective against the Omicron variant, they make it possible to limit the number of serious cases, and therefore hospital tensions.
The vaccination schedule is also traditional, two injections three weeks apart. On the other hand, it has a major advantage: it can be easily stored in fridge. The delivery of the first doses of Novavax is therefore eagerly awaited by European countries, but also by countries in the South.
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