Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jul. 31, 2014
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2014
Entity Registrant Name	NOVAVAX INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001000694
Trading Symbol	NVAX
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		238,412,649