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Los Angeles County COVID vaccination sites will start administering the Novavax vaccine beginning Wednesday, the Public Health Department announced Friday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine July 13 after it was found to be 90% effective against mild, moderate and severe disease in the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial involving 30,000 participants ages 18 and older.
“Authorizing an additional COVID-19 vaccine expands the available vaccine options for the prevention of COVID-19, including the most severe outcomes that can occur such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said July 13 in announcing vaccine’s authorization.
Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Novavax vaccine was developed without the use of mRNA technology.
Residents 18 years and older can get the Novavax vaccine, which is a two-dose primary series, with the second dose administered three weeks after the first. Boosters are not recommended and the Novavax vaccine is not authorized for children 17 and younger.
Residents can walk into any Los Angeles County Department of Public Health vaccination location to receive the vaccine. Residents can also contact their provider to see if their provider is offering Novavax.
The number of COVID-positive patients in county hospitals remained unchanged Friday at 1,239, down from 1,280 on Wednesday. Of those patients, 138 were being treated in intensive care, down from 147 a day earlier.
