Novavax reactogenicity & research
A US real‑world study of healthcare workers and first responders found Novavax’s protein‑based vaccine produced fewer and milder side effects compared with the updated Pfizer‑BioNTech mRNA shot. (contagionlive.com) Researchers are also pursuing ‘universal’ vaccines that target COVID, flu and other pathogens in one shot, and data continues to show older adults remain at highest risk for severe COVID and flu. (rnz.co.nz) (euronews.com)
The real‑world study is registered as SHIELD‑Utah (NCT06633835) and was conducted through University of Utah Health with participants enrolled between September and December 2024. (medrxiv.org) Enrollment was self‑selected and totaled 588 frontline workers: 219 chose Novavax and 369 chose Pfizer‑BioNTech, with reactogenicity captured by participant questionnaires at two and seven days post‑vaccination. (biospace.com) Outcome measures reported by the study included mean counts of systemic symptoms (1.7 for Novavax vs. 2.8 for Pfizer) and rates of grade‑2-or‑higher symptoms (24.2% vs. 43.8%), plus fewer reported hours of missed work among Novavax recipients. (trial.medpath.com) Investigators presented these preliminary results at the ESCMID Global Congress 2025 and listed Sarang K. Yoon, DO, MOH, as the study’s principal investigator at University of Utah Health. (contagionlive.com) The “universal” vaccine work cited by reporters stems from a Stanford Medicine team that published a Feb. 19, 2026 paper describing an intranasal liposomal vaccine that protected mice against multiple respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens by boosting lung innate immunity. (med.stanford.edu) Authors of the Stanford study say the approach produced protection lasting at least three months in mice and that, in an optimistic timeline, human testing could begin in several years pending further animal studies and regulatory steps. (sciencedaily.com) New analyses cited by health outlets link ageing lung cells and GZMK‑marked immune populations to worse outcomes in older adults, and public‑health data continue to show older age groups bear most severe disease burdens—people 65+ account for the bulk of flu hospitalizations and deaths in recent seasons. (euronews.com)
