By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Novavax Inc said on Thursday its coronavirus vaccine was 89.3% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK, according to a preliminary analysis.
Novavax said the trial, which enrolled 15,000 people aged 18 to 84, is expected to be used to apply for regulatory review in Britain, the European Union and other countries. Some 27% of people in the trial are over 65.
The study took place as the more easily transmissible UK variant was circulating, and the preliminary analysis suggests the vaccine was 85.6% effective against this mutation, the U.S. company announced in a news release. It did not provide the study data.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer and Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
