Q: When will the Novavax vaccine become available?

Q: When will the Novavax vaccine become available?

A: The Novavax vaccine is currently available to the public.

The vaccine became available for order in late July after the Food and Drug Administration granted it emergency use authorization that same month.

The two-dose COVID-19 vaccine uses protein-based methods similar to that of the Human Papillomavirus and the Hepatitis B vaccines, as well as the Tetanus Toxoid and Diphtheria Toxoid vaccines from the childhood vaccine series, according to an article by Lindsay Rogers, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health content strategy associate director.

The vaccine differs from the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA-based vaccines, the primary vaccines available to the public before Novavax’s authorization.

While these vaccines are now available to order from Novavax, availability locally is still limited.

Currently, only one location in Victoria -the H-E-B at 6106 N Navarro St.- provides the Novavax vaccine by appointment, according to vaccine.gov.

The Victoria County Public Health Department has also ordered 20 doses of the Novavax vaccine and is awaiting for them to be delivered, said department director David Gonzales.

The department has ordered a small amount to see what the demand for the protein-based vaccine will be before ordering more to meet the need, Gonzales said.

Those interested in the Novavax vaccine can call the health department’s nurse division to be put on a waiting list for the vaccine when they arrive, he said.

“Anytime another option becomes available to fight COVID-19, it is a positive,” Gonzales said. “If people show they want the vaccine, we’ll order more.”