Novavax COVID vaccine for US to be manufactured by India's Serum Institute

US vaccine producer Novavax has announced that it will be partnering with the Serum Institute of India to manufacture supplies of the shot for American recipients.

Serum Institute, led by Adar Poonawalla, became a household name for its Covishield vaccine earlier in the pandemic.

"So all vaccines that are being distributed globally commercially are being made in a single facility by our partners (the Serum Institute in India)...that includes the vaccines which are being deployed around the world as well as the ones that will be initially deployed in the US," said Chief Medical Officer Filip Dubovsky, according to Reuters.

If approved by the American Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Novavax will become the fourth approved vaccination shot in the US. An advisory committee of the FDA overwhelmingly approved the deployment of Novavax in the country, via a 21-0 voting margin and one abstention.

According to Reuters, with the vaccine already available in other parts of the world such as Canada, Australia, and Europe, the committee suggested that Novavax may be able to convince vaccine-sceptics who have stayed away from existing options due to fears of rare medical side effects and allergies.