New type of COVID-19 vaccine to be available in B.C. in the 'next few days'; plant-based shot to come

A new type of COVID-19 vaccine will be available soon in British Columbia, according to the province's top doctor.

The protein-subunit vaccine Novavax Nuvaxoid will be delivered "in the next few days."

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in February that the shot would be an option in B.C. at some point, but in a news conference Tuesday she gave a better idea of timeframe.

Protein-subunit vaccines are described by Health Canada as containing "harmless and purified pieces (proteins) of the virus, which have been specifically selected for their ability to trigger immunity."

These types of vaccines are already used in Canada, with one example being the shot for hepatitis B.

Federal health officials say these protein pieces are incapable of actually causing the disease, and that the technology to make these types of shots is "well established."

Only vaccines that meet Canadian standards for safety, effectiveness and quality will be approved for use in the country.

In the case of Novavax, it is currently only approved for use in adults, but in clinical trials it was 90 per cent effective week after the second dose.

The dosing schedule is two shots, given three weeks apart.

Dr. Henry said it is safe to mix and match Novavax with other shots, so those who received something else for their first dose and had concerns or side effects can use the new option as their second dose.

She said in that case it should be given about eight weeks after the first shot in the primary series was received.

It can also be used as a third or booster dose, she said, for those who've had two doses of anything else.

"And for those people who have not yet started your course of vaccination, Novavax is a perfect opportunity for you to rethink that and get the protection that others have," Henry said.

Those who are interested are told to call 1-833-838-2323 to be added to the list. She said there are already close to 1,000 people on that list, and arrangements will be made as soon as the vaccine is delivered to the province.

At some point, too, B.C. will receive a new plant-based vaccine, which was just approved last week. But that shot isn't expected to be available anywhere in Canada for the next few months.

4 TYPES OF VACCINES IN CANADA

Novovax joins a list of several COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada, including those made by Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca. 

Moderna's Spikevax and the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirmnaty vaccine are both messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, a new type that doesn't use live virus to trigger an immune response but instead teaches the cells how to make a protein that will trigger that response, Health Canada says. This forces the creation of the antibodies that help fight the infection if a person catches the real virus.

AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria vaccine and the shots made by Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) are both viral vector based, meaning they use a harmless virus as a delivery system.

In this case, they use the adenovirus, which causes the common cold, to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which forces the body to mount an immune response without actually exposing the person to the virus that causes COVID-19.

Viral vector vaccines are common in the treatment of animals, Health Canada says.

There is also one plant-based COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Canada, called Medicago Covifenz, as of last week.

Health Canada says this shot uses a unique technology that "synthesizes the virus's genetic code so that its genetic instructions can be read by plants."

The plants then produce a non-infectious particle that copies the virus that causes COVID. 

Henry called it "really interesting," and said that Medicago is only approved for those 18 to 64 for the time being, as there were no older people involved in trials.

As previously mentioned, it won't be available for some time.

With protein-subunit vaccines now approved for use in Canada, the country has four types available in its fight to slow the spread of COVID-19.