Novavax trial participant - stuck in vaccine limbo?
I signed up for the Novavax trial several months ago to contribute to COVID response despite the small voice in the back of my head warning me there were risks given the company hadn’t successfully brought a vaccine to market and was relatively unknown in the medical space (unlike larger, established companies like Pfizer and J&J). So now I’m vaccinated, but that small voice in the back of my head is getting louder given recent news, and I’m wondering if I made a mistake in doing so because I’m kind of in that limbo of being vaccinated but not “officially,” and I’m curious if there are other trial participants feeling similarly (or who can reassure me a bit).
- Novavax again delayed their EUA filing with the FDA until Q4. Who knows if this is the last time they’ll push?
- The U.S. government recently said it won’t fund further production of Novavax’s vaccine until they fix regulators’ concerns because the company’s production process doesn’t meet FDA standards. With this loss of funding, will Novavax have enough cash on hand to fulfill its production contracts — or even start producing any mass-scale vaccine doses at all?
- No data has been published about efficacy against delta or any of the other emerging variants. A recent CNBC article noted “a booster dose of a Novavax vaccine six months after a two-dose regimen of an approved vaccine could provide increased protection against the delta variant and other variants,” but my research center says Novavax has not contacted them about any studies involving booster shots, and I’m 6 months out from my second dose.
- I have a CDC card saying I’m a trial participant, but who knows where and when that’ll be accepted. The European Union and Canada will allow fully vaccinated Americans in soon, but Novavax isn’t approved so my card means pretty much bupkis to them. Not that I’m planning to travel anytime soon, especially not internationally, but there’s talk in my area about restaurants and businesses starting to require vaccine proof for entry, so will my trial card be accepted?
Any fellow trial participants out there feeling the same? Or does anyone have any info that might quiet down that voice in my head?
Posted Aug 6, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC