Moderna’s new-generation vaccine against Covid-19, targeting the Ómicron variant, has been approved in the United Kingdom, the British Medicines Regulatory Agency announced on Monday.
This version of the vaccine, a world first, has a booster dose that targets half the original virus variant and half the Ómicron variant.
The new version, Omicron, “stimulates a stronger immune response” against both PA.4 and PA.5 strains, and has “fewer side effects” than the original sera, according to the Medicines and Medical Devices Regulatory Agency (MHRA). said.) In a statement.
The MHRA approved the new generation vaccine for “booster doses for adults” because it “meets the British regulator’s safety, quality and efficacy standards”.
The observed side effects were “generally mild and similar to those seen with the original serums,” he said.
“This bivalent vaccine gives us a better tool to help protect against this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” MHRA director June Raine said in a statement.
Moderna’s director general, Stephen Bancell, was quoted by AFP as underlining the “crucial role” this “new generation” vaccine could play in protecting against Covid-19.
Last week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it expected approval in the fall of a Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine targeting the highly contagious Ómicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 strains.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in July that the pandemic is “far from over”, due to the spread of Omicron strains, the lifting of hygiene restrictions and a lack of testing.
Covid-19 cases increased globally in the late spring and early summer, driven by new strains, and cases are predicted to rise again in the fall and winter.
The UK is one of the worst-hit countries in Europe by the pandemic, with nearly 180,000 deaths linked to Covid-19.
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