By Charles Young, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The newest COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax, is a more traditional vaccine compared to those from Moderna and Pfizer, according to the state’s COVID-19 czar.
Vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are messenger RNA vaccines, also called mRNA vaccines, but Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine, said Dr. Clay Marsh on Thursday.
“The benefit of Novavax for people who are concerned about mRNA vaccines is that it is not made by the same technology,” he said. “Therefore, the hope is that people who might have some hesitancy because of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna might take Novavax.”
Protein subunit vaccines package harmless proteins of the COVID-19 virus alongside another ingredient called an adjuvant that helps the immune system respond to the virus in the future.
Vaccines using protein subunits have been used for more than 30 years in the United States, beginning with the first licensed hepatitis B vaccine. Other protein subunit vaccines used today include those to protect against influenza and whooping cough…