WASHINGTON — Novavax Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine won the support of a panel of U.S. government advisers, paving the way for authorization of another tool to fight the coronavirus.
Experts advising the Food and Drug Administration voted 21-0, with one abstention, that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed its risks in adults 18 and older. The FDA doesn’t have to follow the recommendations of its advisory panels, but it usually does.
Authorization would make Novavax’s shot the first vaccine authorized for U.S. adults that mimics the COVID-19 protein that the virus uses to enter cells. Use of the shot may be limited, as concerns about the pandemic wane, and health officials report falling demand for products from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. that have been on the market for months.
