** Shares of vaccine maker Novavax NVAX.O fall 1.3% to $8.51 premarket

** Shah Capital, NVAX's second-largest shareholder, says Novavax should be sold to a bigger pharma firm

** In a letter shared with Reuters, Shah says Novavax's COVID shot rollout has disappointed for third straight year

** Nuvaxovid, NVAX's protein-based COVID vaccine, took just 2% market share last season - Shah Capital

** Novavax did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment

** Shah sees Sanofi, Merck, GSK, AstraZeneca as potential buyers, but hasn't contacted them

** Novavax currently has a market valuation of about $1.35 billion, according to LSEG data

** Up to last close, stock up ~7% YTD

(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru)

((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com))