Vaccine maker Novavax had said its shot was highly effective against Covid-19 and also protected against variants in a large, late-stage study in the US and Mexico. The vaccine was about 90 per cent effective overall and preliminary data showed it was safe, the company said.

While demand for Covid-19 shots in the US has dropped off dramatically, the need for more vaccines around the world remains critical. The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world. That help is still months away, however. The company says it plans to seek authorization for the shots in the US, Europe, and elsewhere by the end of September and be able to produce up to 100 million doses a month by then.

Many of our first doses will go to low- and middle-income countries, and that was the goal, to begin with, Novavax Chief Executive Stanley Erck told the Associated Press. While more than half of the US population has had at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, less than 1 percent of people in the developing world have had one shot, according to Our World In Data.