UK first to approve Covid-19 vaccine targeting original and Omicron variants
- The UK medicines regulator has approved the vaccine, made by US drug company Moderna, as a booster for adults
- ‘It gives sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve’
Britain has become the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron variant of the virus.
The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) approved the so-called bivalent vaccine made by US drug company Moderna as a booster for adults.
The agency’s decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered “a strong immune response” against both Omicron (BA. 1) and the original 2020 virus, it said.
The MHRA also cited an exploratory analysis in which the shot was found to generate a good immune response against the currently dominant Omicron offshoots BA. 4 and BA.5.
No serious safety concerns were identified with this new formulation, the agency added.
Now approval has been secured, Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will advise on how the vaccine should be deployed in the country.