Singapore — The Multi-ministry Task Force assigned to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic held a virtual press conference on Thursday (Jun 24) wherein the country’s path forward was outlined.
The task force emphasized the importance of vaccinating Singapore’s population, and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also announced that the country has an advanced order for a vaccine that has shown high levels of efficacy against Covid-19 variants, and has therefore been touted as a “better” vaccine than others.
Ministers Lawrence Wong, Ong, and Gan Kim Yong explained that Covid-19 is likely to become endemic, which means that it may stay permanently but not cause a large number of deaths.
Mr Ong said that the country has an advanced order for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US company Novavax.
The formulation of the Novavax vaccine differs from that of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which are approved for use in Singapore, as well as that of Sinovac, recently allowed by the Ministry of Health for some Singaporeans to use.
“Recently there have been some encouraging results of Novavax clinical trials published in the papers,” Mr Ong said.
“We are working closely with Novavax and awaiting their application for regulatory approval. We hope the vaccine suppliers can arrive before the end of the year, for those who want to take (a vaccine) that is non-mRNA.”
Why Novavax?
Mr Ong may have been referring to the announcement released by Novavax on Jun 14, that said the vaccine has a 93.2 per cent efficacy against Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest (VOC/VOI).
For Covid-19 variants that are not VOC/VOI, the vaccine showed 100 per cent efficacy.
Like other vaccines, it offers 100 per cent protection against moderate and severe disease. Furthermore, it showed a 91 per cent efficacy in “high-risk” populations.
Novavax’s overall efficacy is an impressive 90.4 per cent.
Novavax vs Pfizer/Moderna vs Sinovac
Vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna are messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines. With mRNA vaccines, a part of the coronavirus’ genetic code is injected into a person’s body. This activates the production of viral proteins, but not the whole virus, in order to train the immune system to attack.
These vaccines were the first to be approved for emergency use late last year and showed efficacy rates of 95 and 94 per cent against the original coronavirus strain.
As for Sinovac, whose efficacy rates vary in clinical trials and real-world studies, it uses killed viral particles in order to expose immune systems to the virus without the risk of serious disease.
Novavax, on the other hand, uses an “older, more familiar science” that was also used in the development of vaccines for Hepatitis B and pertussis, or whooping cough, which is part of the vaccines given to millions of children.
The vaccine is produced by developing an engineered virus that contains a gene for a modified spike protein of the virus responsible for Covid-19.
The Novavax vaccine can also be a game-changer for two additional reasons: First, since it uses older technologies, it can help overcome hesitancy among those wary of mRNA vaccines.
Secondly, Novavax’s latest trials show that it has fewer and less serious side effects, which means a faster recovery time from the shots. For people who cannot afford to miss work, this could add additional incentives for getting vaccinated.
/TISG
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