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LVHN Prepared to Administer Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Starting Sept. 2 | WDIY Local News

Steven Cornfield
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A new COVID-19 vaccine option is ready to be rolled out by Lehigh Valley Health Network to eligible people. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.

Lehigh Valley Health Network said Wednesday in a release that it will begin administering the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine as another primary-series option for adults aged 18 and older.

Novavax is a two-dose primary series, which is given three weeks apart, or up to eight weeks apart if necessary. LVHN says Novavax is not indicated for use as a booster, and is only available for those who have not received a previous COVID vaccine.

The shots will be offered at the network’s MacArthur Road vaccine clinic in Whitehall, beginning Sept. 2. Appointments are recommended, which can be scheduled through the MyLVHN patient portal, or by calling the network’s COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 833-584-6283 from Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Walk ins are also accepted at the MacArthur Road clinic location.

In a statement, Dr. Alex Benjamin, LVHN Chief Infection Control and Prevention Officer, Infectious Diseases, called the Novavax vaccine a “great option” for people who haven’t been vaccinated because of an allergy to an mRNA component used in other COVID-19 vaccines, or for people just waiting for a different option.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines. Unlike these, LVHN says Novavax uses a more traditional protein-based approach, like other current vaccines used to prevent illnesses. The FDA and CDC authorized the Novavax vaccine in July.

(Original air-date: 9/1/22)

Sarit "Siri" Laschinsky was WDIY's News and Public Affairs Director until 2023.
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