The Novavax vaccine is one of three vaccines available in the U.S. for the prevention of COVID-19 and the only one that does not use the relatively new mRNA vaccine technology. It’s unique among the available coronavirus vaccines here in that it uses a traditional virus-blocking technology that’s been used against other diseases.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an updated 2024-2025 Novavax vaccine in August 2024. The Novavax shot was authorized for everyone ages 12 and older a little more than a week after the FDA approved newly updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines for everyone ages 12 and older, and authorized them for children ages 6 months through 11 years.