True: The U.S. government will pay $1.6 billion to Novavax for developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

By: Devika Kandelwal
July 8 2020

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The U.S. federal government has invested $1.6b in Novavax for developing 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by the beginning of 2021.Novavax is a biotech company based out of Maryland. Under 'Operation Warp Speed,' United State's Covid-19 vaccine program, the federal government has invested $1.6 billion in Novavax. The company would be paid for developing 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by early 2021. Until now, the government has spent nearly $4 billion on companies developing coronavirus vaccines. According to CNN, Novavax is the fourth company that the government has invested in to conduct large-scale Phase 3 clinical trials for developing an effective Covid-19 vaccine. The government has also invested in AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, and they have also received Phase 3 contracts. According to Novavax, its vaccine for Covid-19 contains a small part of the coronavirus called the spike protein, which sits atop the virus. The aim is to make the immune system believe the spike is the entire virus. The immune system creates a response, which would then be used to attack the real virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.