FDA, CDC Give Emergency Approval to Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine as First Booster Shot

A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken on April 10, 2020. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday signed off on Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine to use as a first booster dose for people aged 18 and older.

After the FDA gave an emergency use authorization to the Novavax booster on Wednesday, the CDC recommended its use hours later. The Novavax shot differs from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in that it doesn’t use mRNA and differs from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it doesn’t use an adenovirus.