GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Phase three for yet another vaccine trial is underway in the United States. Novavax, the Gaithersburg-based company, has begun enrolling adult volunteers.
Novavax is the fifth company to launch a large scale trial in the U.S. The two-shot vaccine won't need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures, or require special freezers, making it much more accessible. The vaccine is also different than Pfizer and Moderna in other ways.
"We make our vaccines using the blueprint from the virus, we make it artificially. They put the blueprint into the human cell when they inject people and the human cell makes the protein. We make protein in a cell in a vat," said Dr. Gregory Glenn, Novavax President of Research and Development.
Novavax researchers are looking for 30,000 volunteers to participate in this trial. They are looking for those who are the most at-risk.
"Over 65 years old, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are who we are targeting to support this trial because we want to develop condfidence to use this vaccine," said Dr. Glenn.
Two-thirds of the trial volunteers will receive the actual vaccine, with the rest receiving a placebo. The Novavax vaccine trial is already underway in the U.K. and South Africa, with results expected in January. The results in the U.S. are expected sometime in the Spring.
The trial is being conducted in collaboration with Operation Warp Speed.