Novavax is a protein vaccine – it uses inert protein fragments of the COVID-19 virus to trigger the body’s immune response.
Infectious disease expert Paul Griffin says this makes Novavax different to the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca jabs that are currently available.
“So at the moment in this country, we're using mRNA vaccines in form of Pfizer and Moderna, and also a viral vector vaccine - AstraZeneca. And what they do essentially, is deliver the instructions to make the spike proteins - the part of the virus we want a response against. With Novavax, it’s a slightly more traditional way of making a vaccine, where we basically make those spike proteins in the laboratory and deliver those into peoples arms so we get a response that way.”
Dr Griffin says some people appeared more comfortable with Novavax because it was made with a more established manufacturing process.
“It is based on a different platform, and for some people that’s the one they would prefer – and so it’d be great if those people go out and get the vaccine as soon as it’s available.”
Click on the player at the top of the page to listen to this information in Punjabi.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at https://www.sbs.com.au/language/coronavirus
