Latest results from the Novavax vaccine trial show 100% protection against severe disease

Published: 12 March 2021

Novavax have presented the latest results of their phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial, led by the Vaccine Institute at St George’s in the UK.

The results show the vaccine is 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original strain of the coronavirus and is also 86% effective against the newer Kent variant of the disease. The UK trial has shown the jab offers 100% protection against severe disease, which includes preventing hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19. 

Led by St George’s, the study in the UK enrolled more than 15,000 participants aged between 18 and 84. In participants 65 years of age and older, 10 cases of Covid-19 were observed, with 90% of those cases occurring in the placebo group.

Novavax expects to use the data to submit for regulatory approval across the world, with the UK having already secured 60 million doses of the vaccine under an in-principle agreement.

Professor Paul Heath, Chief Investigator of the UK Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine Trial from St George’s, said: “These are enormously exciting findings and confirm the results of the earlier interim analysis. This is a highly effective and safe Covid-19 vaccine and one that is effective against the important UK variant.

“This wonderful news is a tribute to the over 15,000 volunteers in our trial, to the dedication of the UK investigators and to the huge support of the NIHR.”

The Vaccine Institute at St George’s has operated as a testing site for all three of the first candidate vaccines to combat Covid-19 that have been trialled in the UK. These include the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Imperial vaccine trials, as well as the Novavax trial.

The Vaccine Institute is now running paediatric Covid-19 trials as well as a trial to explore the effectiveness of using different types of vaccine for the first and second doses received.

So far more than 1,100 participants have been vaccinated at St George’s.

The Covid-19 vaccine trials extend a portfolio of research at St George’s to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The University has launched a Coronavirus Action Fund to raise money for vital research into the pandemic and is actively seeking support for a broad research programme involving all parts of the University.