London: British health authorities have authorized an updated version of modernaof the coronavirus vaccine that aims to protect against the original virus and the Omicron variant.
In a statement on Monday, medicines And Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it has given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot.
Each dose of the booster shot will target both the original COVID-19 virus that was first detected in late 2019 and the Omicron BA.1 variant that was first spotted in November. British regulators said the side effects were similar to Moderna’s original booster shot and were generally “mild and self-resolving”.
“This (combination) vaccine is a fast tool in our arsenal to help protect us from this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” said Dr. June RhineThe head of the UK health care and drug regulator.
Such an approach is used with flu shots, which are adjusted each year based on the variants circulating and can protect against up to four influenza strains.
On Friday, Germany’s health minister said the European Medicines Agency could clear the tweaked COVID-19 booster next month.
In June, the US Food and Drug Administration told vaccine manufacturers that any booster shots for the fall would have to include protection against the latest Omicron variants.
according to World Health OrganizationThe latest global surge of COVID-19 is driven by the Omicron subvariant BA.5, which accounts for nearly 70% of virus samples shared with the world’s largest public virus database.
In a statement on Monday, medicines And Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it has given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot.
Each dose of the booster shot will target both the original COVID-19 virus that was first detected in late 2019 and the Omicron BA.1 variant that was first spotted in November. British regulators said the side effects were similar to Moderna’s original booster shot and were generally “mild and self-resolving”.
“This (combination) vaccine is a fast tool in our arsenal to help protect us from this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” said Dr. June RhineThe head of the UK health care and drug regulator.
Such an approach is used with flu shots, which are adjusted each year based on the variants circulating and can protect against up to four influenza strains.
On Friday, Germany’s health minister said the European Medicines Agency could clear the tweaked COVID-19 booster next month.
In June, the US Food and Drug Administration told vaccine manufacturers that any booster shots for the fall would have to include protection against the latest Omicron variants.
according to World Health OrganizationThe latest global surge of COVID-19 is driven by the Omicron subvariant BA.5, which accounts for nearly 70% of virus samples shared with the world’s largest public virus database.