The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is Australia’s last big hope, but there’s a catch with the 51 million doses we’ve ordered

As Australia falls behind in vaccinating our population against COVID-19, it’s been revealed there’s an issue with the last option on the table.

There aren’t many viable options left on the table to save Australia’s bungled COVID-19 vaccine rollout program.

The government went all-in on the AstraZeneca jab, which formed the vast majority of ordered doses, but it’s been abandoned for virtually everyone under the age of 50 due to rare but serious blood clotting risks.

Instead, those millions of people have been told to wait for the Pfizer vaccine but the government only ordered 20 million doses – the first chunk of which went to healthcare workers, hotel quarantine staff and aged care residents.

Getting more doses hasn’t been easy. In addition, a hasty top-up order of 20 million more won’t start shipping here until the end of 2021.

The single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine won’t be considered, because it too carries the risk of rare blood clothing. And for some reason, the government didn’t place an order for the promising Moderna jab.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s pledge last year that Australia would be “at the front of the queue” when vaccines were available is now a bitter and distant memory.

Instead, world rankings put us on par with Botswana, and 76th out of 152 countries.

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The final realistic vaccine hope lies in the form of one being produced by the US biotech firm Novavax, which is currently in phase three testing.

Australia has purchased 51 million doses, which is enough to comfortably cover the entire population.

There’s just a slight catch … and it will dash any hopes of a speedy turnaround in our dire COVID inoculation fortunes.

Scott Morrison’s handling of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been heavily criticised. Picture: AFP

How does the Novavax jab work?

Like the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, Novavax is given in two doses, although the recommended time between them is yet to be confirmed.

Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine, the Novavax option can be stored at fridge temperature and doesn’t require extremely cold conditions to maintain its integrity, Professor Jamie Triccas, an expert in medical microbiology at the University of Sydney, explained.

“The vaccine also uses a different technology to the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines,” Professor Triccas wrote in an article for The Conversation.

“It’s a ‘protein subunit’ vaccine – these are vaccines that introduce a part of the virus to the immune system, but don’t contain any live components of the virus.

“The Novavax vaccine uses a version of the spike protein made in the lab. The spike proteins are assembled into tiny particles called ‘nanoparticles’, which aim to resemble the structure of the coronavirus, however they cannot replicate once injected and the vaccine cannot cause you to get COVID-19.

“In order for these subunit vaccines to generate strong protective responses, they need to include molecules that boost your immune system, called ‘adjuvants’.

“The goal of these adjuvants is to mimic the way the real virus would activate the immune system, to generate maximum protective immunity.

“Novavax includes an adjuvant based on a natural product known as saponin, an extract from the bark of the Chilean soapbark tree.”

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How effective is the Novavax jab?

Novavax is in the midst of phase three trials for its COVID-19 vaccine, but interim data released in March was very promising.

“When tested in the UK in a clinical trial including more than 15,000 people, the vaccine was 96 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19 disease for those infected with the original strain of the coronavirus,” Professor Triccas wrote.

“This compares well to the Pfizer vaccine, with an efficacy of 95 per cent, and recent data from AstraZeneca, demonstrating 76 per cent efficacy against COVID-19.”

Its efficacy in preventing illness from new variants of concern is a mixed bag, studies to date indicate.

A trial found the vaccine was still effective against the B117 strain, known as the UK variant, with an 86 per cent efficacy.

“This is good news because the B117 variant is now dominant in many European countries, is more transmissible and deadly than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and is responsible for most of the cases that have arisen recently in Australia,” Professor Triccas said.

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Australia has purchased 51 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. Picture: NCA NewsWire

But in combating the B1351 variant, the South African strain, the vaccine is less promising, with efficacy dropping to 55 per cent.

“Novavax, along with the other major vaccine companies, are developing booster vaccines to target the B1351 variant,” Professor Triccas said.

“Novavax are planning to test a ‘bivalent’ vaccine, which targets two different strains, using the spike protein from both the original Wuhan strain and the B1351 variant.”

There is not data on its protection against the P1 or Brazilian strain, which is wreaking havoc through South America.

Promisingly, the Novavax jab appears to be safe, causing mainly mild adverse events such as tenderness at the point of infection, Professor Triccas wrote.

No serious adverse reactions were recorded in early clinical testing.

“In the larger trials, adverse events occurred at low levels and were similar between the vaccine and placebo groups,” he said.

The wide use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended around the world. Picture: AFP

When will it arrive in Australia?

And herein lies the issue with the final COVID-19 vaccine hope for the majority of Australians.

Official vaccine rollout information provided by the federal Department of Health still advises: “If the vaccine is proven to be safe and effective and is approved for use, it will be available in Australia as early as the first half of 2021.”

But that’s no longer the case. Not by a long shot.

Its arrival and deployment in Australia will take much, much longer than originally hoped, with Novavax running behind schedule in securing a contract with the European Union to produce components of the vaccine there.

That’s because of a shortage of essential materials from an Indian partner. So, the planned launch has been delayed from June to September.

“They remain on track on their advice to us for a likely delivery in the third quarter, commencing then and proceeding from then on,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said last week.

It still then needs to be approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Estimates that the Novavax vaccine would be here in the first half of 2021 were way off. Picture: Julian Andrews

Original targets set by the government have been entirely abandoned, after the first – to vaccinate four million Aussies by the end of March – fell woefully short.

Mr Morrison then conceded it’s unlikely another goal, of every person who wants a vaccine getting it by October, will be met.

“The government has not set, nor has any plans to set any new targets for completing first doses,” Mr Morrison said.

“While we would like to see these doses completed before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved.

“We will just get on with the job of working together to produce, distribute and administer the vaccines as safely and efficiently as possible.”