This Monday, the United Kingdom became the first country to approve a bivalent vaccine that attacks the original COVID-19 virus as well as its Omicron variant.
The vaccine is expected to be used as an adult booster this fall.
According to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the asset belongs to the Moderna pharmaceutical company, however the number of doses that will be available is still unknown.
The health authorities had already indicated that – starting next September – a booster vaccine will be offered to those over 50 years of age and to people who are in the highest risk groups.
The original vaccines used during the pandemic were developed to combat the original form of the virus that emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, but the virus has since mutated as new variants emerged that can evade the immune system, causing caused outbreaks of evil in many countries.
According to the MHRA, side effects from the vaccine are the same as those seen with Moderna’s original booster dose and were generally mild.
MHRA chief executive June Raine described the new booster as “a sharp tool in our arsenal” to protect the UK against Covid-19.
With this bivalent vaccine, it is expected that only a single injection will be needed in adults once a year.
To date, 23,634,821 cases of COVID have been confirmed in the UK.
Moderna’s chief medical officer, Paul Burton, said the new injection can boost a person’s antibodies to levels so high that it may only be needed annually.
Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, described it as a “next-generation Covid-19 vaccine” that will play an “important role in protecting people in the UK from Covid-19” over the winter.
“We are delighted with the MHRA authorization of Spikevax Bivalent Original/Omicron, our next generation Covid-19 vaccine,” Bancel told the media.
“This represents the first authorization of a bivalent vaccine containing Omicron, further highlighting the dedication and leadership of UK public health authorities in helping to end the Covid-19 pandemic,” it added.
With information from EFE
