Novavax COVID-19 vaccine production pushed back in blow for Australia

Production of one of the vaccines Australia was relying on has been set back after supply shortages caused delays in a fresh blow for the country.

Production of the Novavax vaccine has been set back with the company saying supply shortages had caused delays in a fresh blow for Australia’s rollout program.

Novavax had previously said its production target of 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per month could be achieved by May or June, but the company said on Monday that it now expected to be at full capacity by the third quarter.

“We said during our earnings call that we expect all capacity being online by around mid-year. We’re continuing to refine that timing as we get closer, which now leads us to think we’re online/at full capacity by Q3,” Novavax communications director Amy Speak said by email on Monday, Reuters reported.

US biotech company Novavax planned production timeline has been delayed. Picture: Justin Tallis / AFP

RELATED: Another jab rollout paused over clots

“There are some supply shortages that come and go that have contributed to the revision in timing,” she said. “These have included things like the bioreactor bags and filters.”

Australia has ordered 51 million doses of Novavax’s two-shot vaccine, which has been expected to play a significant role in the nation’s vaccine strategy and even potentially emerge as the main player down the track.

The nation only has vaccine agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novavax, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged that under-50s will be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine after blood clot fears.

Australia has ruled out using Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine as part of its rollout, since the Janssen jab is an adenovirus vaccine, the same type of vaccine as the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“The government does not intend to purchase any further adenovirus vaccines at this time,” said a spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt.

The J&J shot’s rollout was paused in the US overnight while its link to six reported blood blot cases is investigated.

The Government only initially ordered 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine — enough for 10 million Australians to get their two doses — with more than a million having arrived at a rate of around 130,000 each week.

This was in part because transporting and administering the AstraZeneca vaccine was much easier than Pfizer, which needs to be kept at a temperature of -70C.

Mr Morrison confirmed on Friday Australia had struck a deal for an additional 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, to arrive later this year.

Mr Morrison earlier this month claimed 3.1 million contracted vaccine doses had not arrived from the European Union.

Talks with Moderna, which developed another vaccine that has been successfully rolled out across the US and parts of Europe, broke down last year, as Australia is looking to see if it can bring other vaccines forward.

Novavax has a 95.6 per cent efficacy against the original COVID virus strain and 85 per cent against the UK strain, meaning has been hoped it could be used provide boosters for other shots.

“I have a very strong feeling that Novavax, or one of the other protein vaccines will be the long-term option for vaccination for the world,” Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said in February.

“We’re likely to get the full dossier for data in relation to that vaccine before the middle of the year.

“So that would be another option later in the year for us, hopefully.”

Protein vaccines take longer to manufacture, but have a strong record of long-term protection, which could mean in the long run that they outperform Pfizer and Moderna by lasting longer and reducing the need for booster shots.