LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There's another COVID-19 vaccine option on the table for Clark County residents over the age of 18.
The Novavax vaccine, which has been used worldwide, is available at the Southern Nevada Health District's clinic at 280 S. Decatur Boulevard, the district announced on Monday. Novavax doses are expected to be made available at community clinic sites starting on Wednesday, they added.
Novavax is unique among available COVID-19 vaccines because it was developed using protein-based technology, "which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has used for decades to develop vaccines," health officials said. It's been touted as a more conventional alternative to the mRNA doses.
It was recently authorized as a two-day dose for adults 18 years old and older, with the second dose to be administered three to eight weeks after the first.
Health officials noted that Novavax is not authorized as a booster shot.
Novavax was shown to be 90% effective at preventing mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 illness, according to the health district. Side effects reported by those who got the shots are said to be "mild and like those reported from the mRNA vaccines."
"The side effects were more commonly reported after the second dose of the vaccine," officials said.
In Clark County, COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone over the age of 6 months at multiple locations administered by the Southern Nevada Health District. Booster doses are also available for people over the age of 5 who received one of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna).
Find a SNHD COVID-19 clinic location at snhd.info/covid-vaccine, and find more information about the Novavax vaccine on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website here.
