CDC advisory panel recommends Novavax COVID vaccine for adult use

A major Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Tuesday recommended the Novavax two-step COVID vaccine for adult usage, one of the last steps before the drug can be released for general distribution. 

The unanimous endorsement came after a lengthy public meeting on Tuesday during which the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reviewed data regarding the Novavax shot. The dose, if ultimately approved, will join Pfizer's, Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's shots on the U.S. vaccine market. 

The FDA last week gave emergency use authorization to the Novavax shot, claiming that it had "undergone the FDA’s rigorous and comprehensive scientific and regulatory review." 

The CDC's final decision will be given by agency Director Rochelle Walensky; it could come as early as this week. 

Roughly three-quarters of all U.S adults are "fully vaccinated," with health authorities pressing Americans to receive "booster shots" of the COVID vaccine at the earliest available opportunity.