A million and a half doses of a new protein-based Covid vaccine will arrive in Germany this week in hopes to sway a minority of the population that remains skeptical of the common vaccines.
The Nuvaxovid vaccine, developed by US biotech company Novavax, is a new protein-based vaccination comparable to conventional flu shots. The other popular and commonly used Covid vaccines thus far have used mRNA technology.
About 1.4 million doses of the new Nuvaxovid vaccine will arrive in Germany this week. A further million doses are set to arrive the following week. In total, the German government has ordered 34 million doses for the year 2022.
In December, the EU permitted the use of Novavax’s vaccination. It remains to await authorization in the United States. So far, the new vaccine has only been used in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Last June, Novavax announced that its vaccination had proven more than 90 percent effective against symptomatic infections with the Covid Alpha variant in its trials. It has been said that the vaccine holds up similarly in its effectiveness against Delta and Omicron variants, especially when a booster dose is administered.
Nuvaxovid contains a non-infectious component on the surface of the Covid virus, which induces a protective immune response within the body.
Surveys conducted in Germany suggest that there is considerable interest in this vaccination among the unvaccinated. In Germany, around 19.8 million people have declined to get a Covid vaccination.
Overall in the country, approximately 75 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid. In the United States, that number is lower, at 65 percent fully vaccinated. Germany had a better take-up of the vaccination, but the rate flatlined at 75 percent for months. Health officials hope that this new vaccination will be a game-changer, and that the unvaccinated population will choose this new shot.
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