Lynn ⚚

💉🧵 Why Novavax is the better COVID-19 vaccine While we *still* wait for Novavax to roll out, since today is Sunday and pharmacies & customer support lines are closed, I’m taking a step back to a very basic concept and giving a reminder of WHY we’re all waiting for Novavax in the first place. And why nobody should be considering rushing out to get mRNA right now. Some forget in the midst of all the panic, and some people looking at us “holdouts” from the outside may still be confused about why anyone would ever bother to wait for Novavax in the first place. This will also be the topic of the next article that @DonEford releases, so keep an eye out for a much more in-depth and scientific analysis than this thread will offer. You often hear Novavax discussed as a “traditional protein-based vaccine”, which makes it similar to vaccines like Influenza, Hepatitis B, Tdap, & HPV. This is true, which is a testament to Novavax’s safety profile, but it’s not an entirely accurate characterization. While protein is traditional, Novavax also makes use of cutting-edge technology in two distinct ways when compared to other vaccines. Technology 1: Sf9 cells from the Fall Armyworm moth. This is what makes it possible to produce a high-quality protein vaccine targeting a respiratory virus in the first place. Many vaccines, like traditional flu shots, are “inactivated virus vaccines”. These products are made by growing the virus in eggs, and then inactivating it to include in the finished shot. In that process, adaptation becomes an issue. The virus is required to adapt to grow in the eggs, which means the finished product may contain antigen that is clinically significantly different from the antigen seen in the virus actually circulating in the real world. Novavax uses a completely different process, where they skip the step of needing to “grow” the entire virus. Instead, they take the gene for the SARS2 spike protein, insert it into a baculovirus, which then infects Sf9 insect cells that come from the fall armyworm moth. Those cells then produce pure spike protein that is used in the finished product. This allows them to produce antigen that is much more closely matched to circulating viruses, just like mRNA, while still using the more traditional protein base. Technology 2: Matrix-M adjuvant. Matrix-M, which is a saponin-based adjuvant developed by Novavax, is the star of the entire show here. Saponins are natural plant compounds that form soap-like foams in water. Matrix-M specifically comes from the bark of the Quillaja saponaria tree, aka “soapbark tree.” An adjuvant is a substance oftentimes added to vaccines to enhance the immune response to the antigen, and Matrix-M is a next-gen adjuvant that is showing an amazing amount of promise. For example, it’s now being used in a childhood malaria vaccine in Africa, and providing 70% efficacy, compared to the 35% efficacy from previous vaccines! In addition to driving strong antibody responses (B cells) which is pretty much the only thing that older adjuvants do well, Matrix-M also elicits a strong cellular response and memory among T Cells. The Matrix-M mechanism of action is illustrated below. Okay, cool, thanks to the soapbark tree and the fall armyworm moth. Nature is great! But how do these technologies play out in the real world when it comes to the COVID vaccine? Do we have evidence of them *actually* providing us particularly noteworthy protection? Yes! The following categories and studies are all proof of that, and are just a selected handful out of many dozens of studies that prove why Novavax is the best vaccine choice. There are 5 main categories (in addition to the benefit of the JN.1 antigen target, which I’ve already described in the past) that illustrate why Novavax is the best choice: 1. Less waning/better infection protection 2. “Universal-like” variant coverage 3. Better mucosal protection 4. Less side effects 5. No IgG4 class switching 1/4