Wilkes Health has received the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  announced the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine can be used as an additional vaccine option for adults ages 18 years and older.  

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is the latest authorized and recommended vaccine to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death caused by the virus.

"Novavax provides another option for a safe, effective and free vaccine. With the BA.5 variant spreading rapidly, now is the best time to get a vaccine if you haven’t already." Said Rachel Willard Wilkes County Health Director.

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine provides a more familiar type of protein-based vaccine technology that has been used for more than 30 years in shots that help prevent diseases like shingles, hepatitis B, the flu and other illnesses.  

Access to multiple types of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the FDA  and recommended by the CDC gives people more options and flexibility to choose their vaccine.   

The Novavax vaccine is available to anyone over the age of 18 who are not yet vaccinated, and it is given in a two-dose primary series, with a second dose administered between three-to-eight weeks after the first.  Neither a booster nor a third dose is authorized at this time.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, testing and treatments, visit MySpot.nc.gov or contact the North Carolina COVID-19 Vaccine Help Center by phone at 1-888-675-4567.