A vaccine designed to target two different forms of Covid will be offered as part of the autumn booster programme, after the jab was approved by the UK’s regulator.
Manufactured by the US firm Moderna, the jab not only attacks the original coronavirus – as is the case for vaccines currently in use – but is designed specifically for the Omicron variant BA.1, which fuelled a wave of the virus in the UK last winter.
The UK is the first country to approve the bivalent vaccine, known as “Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron”, giving the green light for its use as a booster for people over the age of 18.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the vaccine would be used in the planned autumn booster programme. This is expected to begin in September, in advance of what could be a difficult period for the NHS with an expected surge in respiratory diseases including Covid and flu.
Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said clinical trials had shown the bivalent vaccine provided a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant and the original 2020 strain.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 16, 2022-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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