FDA authorizes Novavax vaccine for ages 12 to 17

What they're saying: The development "will hopefully help increase vaccination rates, particularly as we prepare for ongoing surges of COVID-19 with the start of fall and the back-to-school season," said Novavax president and CEO Stanley Erck in a statement.

• "We hope that our vaccine, developed using an innovative approach to recombinant protein vaccine technology, may have a special role in adolescent vaccination based on parents' and caregivers' familiarity with protein-based vaccines used in other disease areas."

Catch up quick: Novavax won $1.6 billion in federal backing in 2020 as part of Operation Warp Speed. The company's two-dose vaccine was granted emergency authorization from the FDA for use in adults in July.