Novavax COVID Vaccine Expected In August In Fairfax Health District

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — There will soon be a fourth COVID-19 vaccine option in the Fairfax Health District. A two-dose vaccine from Novavax gained FDA authorization and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation for people 18 and older.

Novavax, a Gaithersburg, Maryland biotechnology company, created a vaccine that uses protein subunits to develop an immune response. While Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines and Johnson & Johnson's is a viral vector vaccine, Novavax's protein-based vaccine uses the same technology as those used for hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria. The two doses are given three to eight weeks apart. No booster doses are currently authorized for the Novavax vaccine.

"If you have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, in a statement last week. "With COVID-19 cases on the rise again across parts of the country, vaccination is critical to help protect against the complications of severe COVID-19 disease."

Clinical trials of approximately 26,000 people found the Novavax vaccine was 90.4 percent effective in preventing mild, moderate or severe COVID-19, reducing the risk of severe illness and death. The most common side effects from the vaccine are pain, tenderness, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, join pain, nausea/vomiting, and fever. According to the CDC, severe allergic reactions are rare but possible, and cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported in people who received the vaccine.

The Fairfax County Health Department will begin offering the Novavax vaccine sometime in August. Residents should check back on the health department's website for availability.

The health department's vaccine clinics are located at Fairfax County Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway Fairfax, VA 22035) and the Hyland South County Government Center (Mt. Vernon District Office, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309). Other pop-up clinics may be offered as well.

For more availability from other vaccine providers, visit www.vaccines.gov.

According to the Fairfax County Health Department, over 1 million people 6 months and older in the Fairfax Health District have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. The Fairfax Health District covers Fairfax County, towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton, and cities of Falls Church and Fairfax.

For questions about COVID-19 vaccines, call the health department's call center weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 703-324-7404 or email ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov.