The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department now offers Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years and older. COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics are held daily from 9-11am and 1-3pm at the county health department. The department offers all available and approved COVID-19 vaccinations.
On July 19, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine be used as a primary-series option for adults ages 18 years and older. Novavax is the first protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine recommended for use in the U.S. Having multiple types of COVID-19 vaccines offers options and flexibility for providers and recipients. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine’s safety and effectiveness have been confirmed by clinical trials with thousands of individuals in the U.S.
For West Virginians who have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who have been vaccinated.
There are now four different COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved for use in various age groups in the U.S. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health recommends everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19, and everyone ages 5 years and older get boosted when eligible.
Novavax Dosage and Administration
- The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for adults 18 years of age and older is supplied in a multiple dose vial as 5mcg SARS-CoV-2rS 50 mcg Matrix-M™ adjuvant and requires no dilution.
- The primary series of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is two doses (0.5 mL each) given 3 weeks apart.
- An 8-week interval may be used between dose 1 and 2 to potentially reduce the risk of myocarditis and/or pericarditis in young males.
- There is no Novavax COVID-19 vaccine booster dose authorized at this time.
- There are limited data on the safety and efficacy of mixed primary series comprised of any combination of Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, if a mixed primary series is inadvertently administered the series is complete and the doses do not need to be repeated. This is considered an error; and should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
- Adverse events that occur in a recipient following COVID-19 vaccination should be reported to VAERS and reported concurrently to the West Virginia Poison Center by calling 1-800-222-1222.