The Novavax COVID-19 booster is now available as an option for Hawaii residents, the state Department of Health announced today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 booster by Novavax and its use is now allowed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DOH.

The Novavax monovalent COVID-19 booster is recommended for adults 18 and older for whom a bivalent booster by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna is not clinically appropriate and adults who would otherwise not get a COVID-19 booster.

“We encourage people to get the new bivalent boosters from Pfizer or Moderna because those are the only boosters specially designed to protect against Omicron subvariants,” said State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth “Libby” Char in a news release. “But Novavax is an option for those who can’t get a Pfizer or Moderna booster.”

Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine, according to DOH, which includes harmless proteins of the COVID-19 virus that trigger an immune response.

Protein subunit vaccines, such as vaccines for hepatitis B, shingles, and other diseases, have been used in the United States for more than 30 years.

To date, 179 doses of Novavax COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Hawaii as primary vaccines series, DOH said.

Adults who completed their primary series of Novavax, Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines at least six months ago can receive a Novavax booster if they have not already received a different booster by another manufacturer.

Find Novavax vaccines and boosters at a nearby location via hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine-info or vaccines.gov.