US CDC recommends Novavax’s COVID shot for adolescents

This file photo taken on Nov 17, 2020 shows vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of US biotech company Novavax. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

MEXICO CITY / HARARE – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday signed off on the use of Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 through 17.

The recommendation follows the US Food and Drug Administration's authorization for the vaccine for the age group last week.

The protein-based vaccine received emergency use authorization in July for use among adults in the United States, with health officials hoping it would drive uptake among those skeptical of messenger RNA shots from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.

However, Novavax earlier this month halved its full-year revenue forecast, saying it does not expect further sales of its COVID-19 shot in the United States this year.

The company said it was late to the US market and also pointed to softer demand in the face of a global vaccine supply glut.

So far 11,990 Novavax vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, according to latest government data.

The vaccine, which has already been cleared in countries such as Japan and Australia for use among adolescents, has also been plagued by manufacturing snags, regulatory delays and sluggish uptake in key markets such as Europe.

A woman receives the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Magdalena Contreras borough of Mexico City on Feb 16, 2021, as Mexico begins to vaccinate people over the age of 60 against the novel coronavirus. (MARCO UGARTE / AP)

Mexico

Mexico will file a complaint to the United Nations over the failure to deliver vaccines against COVID-19 that the government bought under a program backed by the World Health Organization, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday.

Mexico was owed US$75 million, Lopez Obrador said, for COVID-19 vaccines meant to be supplied under COVAX, which was established by WHO during the pandemic to help distribute vaccines equitably across the world.

"We're going to file a complaint because they haven't delivered vaccines from the body created in the UN," the president told a regular news conference, saying Mexico had paid for the vaccines upfront about a year ago.

"We've been trying to reach agreement, we've been tolerant since we're dealing with an international body," he added.

A military personnel inoculate a dose of SinoVac vaccine to a citizen at a mobile clinic in Emganwini township, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on Aug 3, 2021. (ZINYANGE AUNTONY / AFP)

Zimbabwe

Life is slowly getting back to normal for Zimbabweans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are now allowed to move about in open public places without wearing face masks.

The government announced on August 16 that those who had received their first two doses of vaccines and had gone on to receive the booster vaccine were now allowed to move about without wearing face masks, even though they would be required to wear them in enclosed areas.

Some offices that had been closed are reopening while people are now engaging more in their favorite outdoor activities such as mere socializing, beer drinking, roasting meat outside liquor outlets, and playing social soccer.