The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially endorsed Novavax – a more traditional type of vaccine – for U.S. adults who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Just last week, the U.S Food and Drug Administration cleared the so-called protein vaccine for COVID-19. But the ultimate hurdle was securing a advice from the CDC.

In a recent press release, nevertheless, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated that their committee of independent advisors voted unanimously to recommend the vaccine for people 18 years old and above.

“Today, we have now expanded the choices available to adults within the U.S. by recommending one other secure and effective COVID-19 vaccine. If you’ve been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a special technology than those previously available, now could be the time to affix the hundreds of thousands of Americans who’ve been vaccinated,” Walensky said.

For the past two years, most Americans have already gotten a minimum of their primary vaccination against COVID-19. Nonetheless, CDC officials said that there are still 26-37 million adults who haven’t had a single dose yet – and this population is the one which Novavax will probably be targeting for now.

“We actually need to deal with that population,” added CDC adviser Dr. Oliver Brooks, the past president of the National Medical Association, saying that he hopes the vaccine will finally persuade the unvaccinated.

The approval and endorsement from the CDC complete the two-year journey for Novavax, one among the early participants within the U.S. to supply a COVID-19 vaccine. Now, Novavax’s vaccine will enter the country at a time when around 77% are fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson shots.

Based on clinical trial data, the vaccine is 90% effective at stopping overall illness and 100% effective at stopping severe disease when the alpha COVID variant was still dominant. The corporate has not yet published data regarding the vaccine’s real-world effectiveness against omicron and its subvariants.

Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s shots, the Novavax vaccine relies on protein subunit technology, the identical technology utilized in flu, whooping cough, and hepatitis B vaccines.

The vaccines are stored at refrigerator temperatures, in comparison with Pfizer and Moderna’s shots that require a subzero environment.