French health authority gives green light to Nuvaxovid vaccine

PARIS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The French national authority of health (HAS) officially approved the Nuvaxovid vaccine for COVID-19 on Friday.

"The data from various studies shows the high efficiency of the Nuvaxovid vaccine against the symptomatic forms of COVID-19 (nearly 90 percent), and in particular against severe forms with nearly 100 percent efficiency," HAS said in a statement.

Nuvaxovid, manufactured by American biotechnology company Novavax, is suitable for people over the age of 18, with a delay between doses of three weeks, HAS said.

The health authority said the Novaxovid vaccine can be used for those who have not received any shots, or cannot receive the mRNA vaccines.

The French Ministry of Health has said that the first injections of Nuvaxovid can start in February, and it will receive 3.2 million doses for the first trimester. The first delivery of vaccines will arrive at the end of January.

The five COVID-19 vaccines authorized in France are Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen and Nuvaxovid.

The French government also allows those who have received two doses of the Chinese vaccines to obtain their health pass, on condition that they should receive a dose of an mRNA vaccine.