More than 15,000 Australians have come forward for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine since it joined the national rollout last week, with health experts hoping the availability of the protein-based jab will push the country’s world-leading take-up rates even higher.

Novavax was granted provisional approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in January and Australians who had been holding out for an alternative to mRNA and viral vector vaccines became eligible for a jab last Monday.