Novavax says its COVID-19 vaccine is 90 percent effective

The two-shot COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax is 90 percent effective against the disease, the company said today.

The Novavax shots are a different type of vaccine than the ones already available: it’s a protein-based vaccine that directly delivers bits of the coronavirus spike protein, which the body then makes antibodies against.

Novavax tested its vaccine in 29,960 people across the US and Mexico who were randomly assigned to get either the vaccine or a placebo injection. There were 77 cases of COVID-19 in the study: 14 in people who’d received the vaccine, and 63 in the group that got a placebo. All 14 cases in the vaccine group were mild. In the placebo group, ten cases were moderate and four were severe, showing the shots protect against more serious illness.