CDC director authorizes Novavax COVID shot for adults

• Earlier Tuesday, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 12-0 to recommend the vaccine, removing a key hurdle for one of America's first big bets under Operation Warp Speed.

Background: Novavax won $1.6 billion in federal backing in 2020.

• Its vaccine uses a protein from the target virus combined with what's called an adjuvant to enhance the body's immune response.
• The FDA this month issued an emergency use authorization for the shot after a staff review found it was 90% effective at preventing new cases in a clinical trial, though it carried the possible risk of causing heart inflammation in some patients.

Go deeper: Regulators believe Novavax represents a non-mRNA COVID vaccine that can serve as a first-line defense and persuade some unvaccinated people to get the shots.