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Where is Novavax authorized currently?

The vaccine is already available for use in at least 170 countries. The European Medicines Agency gave Novavax’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for adults the green light in December; the shot has also been cleared by Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and the World Health Organization, among others. Japan’s health ministry on Tuesday formally approved Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, a fourth foreign-developed tool to combat the infections as the country sees signs of a resurgence led by a subvariant of fast-spreading omicron.

What are the side effects of Novavax?

According to the company, "serious and severe adverse events were low in number and balanced between vaccine and placebo groups" during clinical trials. The company notes that the most common reactions were headache, nausea or vomiting, pain at the injection site, fatigues and muscle pain.

What are the potential issues?

Novavax has run into repeated production problems and mainly relies on other factories to make its vaccine. It has delayed delivery of its shots to numerous countries in Europe and despite pledges to make 250 million doses available to COVAX, not a single vaccine has been shared with the U.N.-backed effort to distribute shots to poorer countries.