February the 5th, 2022 - A new vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Nuvaxovid made by the American company Novavax, will be made available here in Croatia by the end of this month. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the fifth vaccine approved for use against the novel coronavirus, Nuvaxovid made by the American company Novavax, should arrive in Croatia by the end of February.

Prof. dr. sc. Mirjana Kujundzic Tiljak, the director of the Andrija Stampar School of Public Health at the Medical Faculty of the University of Zagreb, said on HTV on Thursday that this was a completely new vaccine.

''We know nothing about its effectiveness on new strains. We don't even know how long the protection will last. That's what is written in the official description of the medicine,'' said Kujundzic Tiljak as a guest of the Dobro jutro Hrvatska/Good morning Croatia show.

Given that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Nuvaxovid back in December, as the first protein vaccine approved for use in the European Union, much is known about the vaccine itself. In addition to European Union countries, Israel has already ordered this new vaccine, ordering their first five million doses last week, even before the vaccine was officially approved in that country.

"This vaccine will be another alternative for those who cannot or don't want to receive the mRNA vaccines," the Israeli Health Ministry said. The same message was sent on Saturday by Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, saying that Novavax's Nuvaxovid has proven ''highly effective'' in preventing moderate to severe clinical pictures of the disease. He therefore called on those few who haven't yet been vaccinated to do so when the first doses arrive in Ireland, as reported by tportal.

Back in September last year, based on an agreement between the European Commission and Novavax, Croatia ordered 198,000 doses of Nuvaxovid, and in early December, Dr. Dragan Primorac told RTL Direkt that the vaccine was ''extremely effective'' in relation to the new and rapidly spreading variant, Omicron.

Nuvaxovid is given in two doses three weeks apart. Unlike mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna), which use part of the novel coronavirus' genetic code, and vector vaccines (AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson) which use a harmless, genetically modified virus to transmit part of the coronavirus' DNA, protein vaccines contain fragments of a protein unique to the novel coronavirus. These fragments are enough for the body to respond by creating a natural defense against infection, and Novavax also uses insect cells in vaccine production.

The technology of protein vaccines is not new, on the contrary - vaccines against pertussis and hepatitis B have been developed on the same principle. Such a vaccine does not have to be stored at low temperatures, which is especially important for developing countries.

The results of two main clinical trials with more than 45,000 subjects showed that Nuvaxovid vaccines are safe and effective in the prevention of covid in persons aged 18 years and older. The first study, conducted in Mexico and the United States, showed a 90.4 percent reduction in the number of symptomatic cases of infection in people who received Nuvaxovid, seven days after their second dose. A second clinical trial, conducted in the United Kingdom, showed a vaccine effectiveness of 89.7 percent. It should be noted that these studies were conducted on ''old'' variants of the novel coronavirus, before the emergence of Omicron, but Novavax has meanwhile reported that their vaccine also generates an immune response to the Omicron variant.

The most common side effects were mild to moderate and went away in a few days. They included pain and tenderness at the vaccine site, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, general weakness, joint pain, and nausea or vomiting.

Nuvaxovid is a protein vaccine with a laboratory-grown version of the spike protein present on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine also contains an ''adjuvant'', a substance that helps boost the immune response to the vaccine, HALMED said.

When the vaccine is given, a person's immune system will identify the protein as foreign and will create a natural defense against it, ie antibodies and T-cells. In case of genuine coronavirus infection, the immune system will then quickly recognise the spike protein on the virus as being the same and be ready to attack it. Antibodies and immune cells work together to kill the virus, prevent it from entering the body's cells, and destroy those already infected cells, helping to protect against full coronavirus infection.

Below are the EMA's answers to a few additional questions about this new American vaccine.

Can people who have already recovered from covid be vaccinated with Nuvaxovid?

There were no additional adverse reactions in subjects receiving Nuvaxovid in clinical trials who had previously had a coronavirus infection. There was insufficient data from the study to conclude how well Nuvaxovid works in people who have already had the virus.

Can pregnant and breastfeeding women be vaccinated with Nuvaxovid?

Animal studies do not indicate any harmful effects in pregnancy, however, data on the use of Nuvaxovid during pregnancy remains limited. Although there are no studies on breastfeeding, no risk is expected. The decision to use the vaccine in pregnant women should be made in close consultation with a healthcare professional after considering the benefits and risks.

Can children be vaccinated with Nuvaxovid?

Nuvaxovid is not currently recommended for people under 18 years of age. The EMA has agreed with Novavax on a plan for later testing of the vaccine in children.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

December the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health has altered the previous recommendation surrounding Croatian covid booster doses. The previous rule stated that a minimum of six months must have passed since the primary vaccination was completed (either since the second dose with a vaccine that requires two doses for a person to be considered fully vaccinated, or since the first dose in single dose vaccines such as Janssen). That has now been scrapped.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Institute of Public Health is now making some new recommendations, according to which booster vaccination will be recommended in Croatia after three months following the end of primary vaccination. The above was explained by Minister of Health Vili Beros.

So far, the Croatian Institute of Public Health's recommendations have been to wait six months following the end of primary vaccination, as stated above, but as Health Minister Vili Beros confirmed to Index recently, a set of new recommendations are now underway, which will advise everyone to come for a booster dose after three months following the end of their primary vaccination.

"The EMA (European Medicines Agency) recommended a booster dose three months after vaccination and the Public Health Institute is now making new recommendations based on that, according to which a Croatian covid booster vaccine will be recommended after three months," said Minister Beros.

Earlier on, at the Government session, Prime Minister Plenkovic said: "On behalf of the Croatian Government, I'd like to call on all those who have been vaccinated to be vaccinated with their third dose before six months of receiving the second dose passes, especially in these circumstances around Christmas."

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including testing centre and vaccine point locations, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.