Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Early Promise

This real-world study conducted between September and December 2024 in partnership with the University of Utah Health, also showed that the impact of symptoms on daily activities, including work and family responsibilities, was lower in recipients of Novavax's vaccine. The results were presented  at the Congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2025.

"The risk of side effects or reactogenicity has been shown to be a major decision factor for those opting to get vaccinated. Our findings of lower frequency and intensity of reactogenicity symptoms from the protein-based COVID-19 vaccine observed in SHIELD-Utah add valuable insights to the public debate weighing choice and value of COVID-19 vaccination," said Sarang K. Yoon, DO, MOH, Principal Investigator, University of Utah Health.

As in previous studies, the SHIELD study found health care workers who received the Novavax vaccine reported significantly fewer reactogenicity events than Pfizer-BioNTech recipients. On average, Novavax recipients experienced 1.7 symptoms versus 2.8 systemic symptoms in Pfizer-BioNTech recipients; 43.8% of Pfizer-BioNTech recipients experienced at least one symptom of Grade 2 or higher compared to 24.2% of Novavax recipients. Local reactogenicity events also showed an absolute difference of 12.5% fewer in Novavax recipients versus Pfizer-BioNTech recipients. The impact of symptoms on daily activities, including work, showed the hours of reduced activity were lower in Novavax recipients versus Pfizer-BioNTech recipients (mean=0.7 vs 1.4h and mean=0.8 vs 2.4h for missed work and less productivity, respectively).

"Today's results add to an increasing body of research underscoring the tolerability of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine," said Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development, Novavax. "Our protein-based nanoparticles and Matrix-M® adjuvant are the foundation of our COVID-19 vaccine. Our new R&D pipeline is focused on delivering more assets built on this powerful technology platform, including the use of our Matrix M adjuvant, which has been associated with a favorable tolerability profile."

SHIELD-Utah was a prospective, interventional study (NCT06633835) conducted at the University of Utah Health. Participants received their choice of the COVID-19 vaccine (219 Novavax; 369 Pfizer-BioNTech), and were asked to complete a post-vaccination questionnaire, including reactogenicity symptoms and impact on daily activities/work, two days and seven days post-vaccination. Participants included physicians (20.4%), nurses/nurse practitioners (19.2%) and medical assistants (11.9%).