Slovakia: Experts hope Novavax vaccine will convince skeptics

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Her Ministry of Health Slovakia opened today the platform for registrations for new Novavax vaccine against coronaviruswhich experts hope will convince them skeptics as it was made according to a more conventional technology.

Slovakia, a country of 5.4 million people, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the EU, with only 51% of the population vaccinated in two doses, according to the Ministry of Health.

“Registration will begin today, February 15, and the vaccination process itself at the end of the month,” ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Eliasova told AFP.

In late December, the European Commission approved the US company’s vaccine as the fifth official vaccine in the EU.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the time that she hoped the vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, “could be a strong encouragement to those who have not been vaccinated or who have not taken the booster dose!”

Slovak immunologists also welcomed the new vaccine. “I look forward to starting Nuvaxovid because it can increase the willingness of Slovaks to get vaccinated,” said Peter Wisolazski, president of the doctors’ union.

The Novavax vaccine is based on the so-called protein subunit technology, which has been tried and tested for decades to vaccinate people against diseases such as hepatitis B and pertussis.

According to Wisolazski, the fact that previous vaccines for Covid were tested on stem cells from expelled embryos may have discouraged loyal Slovaks from being vaccinated.

“The use of a proven and more conventional technology can be an important argument in Slovakia,” he told AFP.

Slovakia has ordered 600,000 doses of the Novavax vaccine, of which the first 34,000 doses are expected to arrive next week, Eliasova said.

Other EU countries, including Germany, have also ordered Nuvaxovid. The vaccine was also approved in Britain.

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