Health Canada has authorized an updated COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical company Novavax, which targets the XBB.1.5 subvariant.
It’s called Nuvaxovid and it’s approved for people 12 years and older.
Nuvaxovid is a protein subunit vaccine, which means it contains harmless virus fragments.
The two other vaccines targeting the XBB sub-variants currently authorized in Canada are mRNA vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. These mRNA options remain the only ones approved for children under 12 years old.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that everyone aged six months and older receive the vaccine specifically targeting the XBB.1.5 subvariant if six months or more have passed since their last COVID-19 vaccination or since their latest COVID-19 infection.
Novavax, based in Maryland, United States, had stressed the importance of having an option for people who cannot accept or do not want an mRNA injection.
Pending approval by Health Canada, the federal government planned to manufacture the Novavax vaccine in Canada, in the National Research Council’s biological products manufacturing center in Montreal.
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