Safety of Matrix-M–adjuvanted COVID-19, seasonal influenza, combination influenza-COVID-19, and malaria vaccines: a review of the evidence
64,101 participants received ≥1 Matrix-M-adjuvanted vaccine dose (143,170 doses): 55,939 COVID-19, 2477 influenza, 1422 CIC, and 4263 malaria vaccines. All authorized and candidate vaccines within each disease area were well-tolerated, including among a wide geographical distribution, immunocompromised populations, and children. Active-comparator clinical trials and post-marketing studies demonstrate favorable reactogenicity profiles of Matrix-M-adjuvanted vaccines versus licensed vaccines for the same diseases, particularly, lower reactogenicity rates post-NUVAXOVID versus mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Research is ongoing to better characterize Matrix-M immune-stimulating mechanisms, continue technology improvements, and identify new applications to enhance vaccines and therapeutics.
Authors
- Linda Stertman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9350-4317)
- Sandra J. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8626-639X)
- Anna-Karin E. Palm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2651-3109)
- Karin Lövgren Bengtsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5154-0144)
- Ruxandra Draghia Akli
- Jenny Nachbar
- Sarah Sellers
- Payal Sadadia
- Robert Walker
- Jonathan Fix
Institutions
- Novavax (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Expert Review of Vaccines
- Published
- 2026-03-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2026.2638828
- Primary Topic
- Immune responses and vaccinations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00