The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) COVID boosters for adults this week, making the shot another mix-and-match booster for those who have received a primary series of vaccines developed by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)-BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).
The CDC made the decision for pharmacies to start administering Novavax boosters soon after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the shots for use in adults 18 years of older six months after completing their primary series of a U.S. authorized COVID vaccine.
"According to CDC data, almost 50 percent of adults who received their primary series have yet to receive their first booster dose," said Novavax CEo Stanley Erck in a statement Wednesday. "Offering another vaccine choice may help increase COVID-19 booster vaccination rates for these adults."
The authorization of Novavax's COVID vaccine as a third dose booster could significantly increase its market share amongst COVID vaccine makers, which has been dominated by Pfizer and Moderna in the U.S. Before, Novavax's vaccine was only authorized as a two-dose primary series, with only tens of thousands of Americans receiving the shot, according to CDC data, compared to more than 200 million who've received other COVID vaccines in the U.S.
The federal health agencies' decision to authorize Novavax's shot as a third dose booster also comes as millions of Americans have already received Pfizer's and Moderna's next-gen bivalent COVID vaccines that target both the dominant Omicron subvariants and the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. The newly authorized booster may not compete well against the evolving virus as Novavax's shot was developed to protect against the original COVID strain.
Novavax said it's booster shot triggered robust immune response against Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, as well as the dominant BA.5 subvariant in studies of adults who received the third dose 8 to 11 months after receiving Novavax as a primary series.
The company said the third booster dose also induced an antibody response in study participants who received a primary vaccine series from Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson.
Novavax's vaccine is based on more conventional vaccine technology used in previously established vaccines like those that protect against hepatitis B and HPV. This compares to the newer messenger-RNA technology that Pfizer and Moderna use in their COVID vaccines.
People who have received Novavax's vaccine as a primary series are also eligible for Pfizer's or Moderna's bivalent COVID booster.