London:
The UK’s drug regulator on Monday said it had approved an updated Moderna vaccine against Covid-19 that targets the Omicron variant as well as the original form of the virus.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement that it had approved the adult booster dose vaccine “after it was found to meet the on safety, quality and effectiveness by UK regulatory authorities”.
This is the first “bivalent” Covid-19 vaccine to be approved by the UK regulator.
MHRA chief executive June Raine said data from a clinical trial showed it had spurred a “robust immune response” against the original virus and Omicron and would provide a “sharp tool” sharp in our arsenal” as the virus continues to evolve.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement that the US biotech company was “delighted” by the decision, “the first authorization of a dual-value vaccine containing Omicron.” .
While vaccines have helped reduce hospitalizations and deaths from Covid, which first appeared in China in late 2019, current vaccinations mainly target earlier strains of the disease.
The World Health Organization warned in July that the pandemic was “not over”, due to the spread of sub-Omicron bacteria and the lifting of control measures.
Half the Moderna vaccine targets the original 2020 virus and half the Omicron variant, officially known as BA.1.
‘dual therapy’ vaccine
The MHRA said the vaccine was also found to produce a “good response” against two Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, which have partly fueled the wave of new cases in Europe. Europe and the United States.
It added that the vaccine had “usually mild” side effects like the original Moderna injection.
Moderna said in June that its “bivalent” vaccine works better against both Omicron and the original virus than the original Covid vaccine, called Spikevax.
The EU’s drug watchdog said that month it had begun a review of the new warning.
Moderna said it has also submitted the vaccine to regulators in Australia and Canada and is expecting further licensing decisions in the coming weeks.
The European health agency is also working on a rival stimulant injection developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, which could be approved this fall.
Pfizer/BioNTech jab was adjusted for virus subvariables BA.4 and BA.5.
They were first detected in South Africa and spread rapidly despite the high population immunity generated by previous rounds of vaccinations and vaccinations.
Like other Omicron subspecies, they tend to have a milder course because they settle less in the lungs and more in the upper nasal passages, causing symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and loss of smell.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
