Novavax vaccine may be approved for Australia within months

The department noted that the supply of Novavax vaccine after approval would still be dependent on products arriving in Australia and meeting laboratory batch release requirements, noting problems faced by the company last year.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations which use mRNA technology, the Novavax vaccine is a subunit protein vaccine, which uses a harmless part of the virus to trigger an immune response.

In November, Hunt agreed that some people were waiting for Novavax, promising Australia would be one of the first countries to start administering the drug.