Novavax says its Omicron-specific vaccine candidate works as a booster

Novavax Inc. is out with new data that makes a case for its Omicron variant-tailored Covid-19 vaccine candidate — and less so for another shot it’s also been testing to attack two strains simultaneously. The Gaithersburg biotech had conducted a phase 3 trial of two experimental Covid vaccines — one designed to protect against just the Omicron variant known as BA.1 and another bivalent shot to protect against both the original and Omicron strains — and compared their results with that of the company’s existing Covid-19 vaccine now on the market. That test showed that the BA.1 variant vaccine provoked a stronger immune response in people not previously exposed to Covid, compared with people who received Novavax’s existing vaccine, which was developed based on the original version of the virus and is now available in the U.S. for primary, secondary and booster doses.