Illustrative image. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore may include COVID-19 vaccine of US biotechnology company Novavax into its national vaccination programme beforethe end of this year, Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung has said.
Speaking at a virtual press conference held on June 24, he said the Ministry ofHealth (MoH) has been looking for vaccines of good quality, which are safe andeffective, to be part of the national vaccination programme, adding thatNovavax has recently shown encouraging results.
Novavax has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective against a varietyof COVID-19 variants, based on late-stage data from its clinical trial in theUS, The Straits Times reported.
The company said it could file for emergency authorisation in the US andelsewhere in the third quarter of this year.
Like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, it also requires two shots, spaced apart.
In January, Singapore signed advance purchase agreements with the Novavax company tosecure its vaccine, with suppliespossibly arriving before the end of the year.
Currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which use mRNAtechnology, are offered under Singapore's vaccination programme. These vaccinesteach cells to make a protein that prompts an immune response.
Novavax is a protein-based vaccine that uses purified pieces of the virus tospur an immune response. Vaccines against whooping cough and shingles employthis approach./.
