(Source: Official website of the British government)
The Medicines and Health Products Administration (MHRA) announced that it has approved the Modena bivalent new crown vaccine for adult new crown booster vaccination. Clinical trial data showed that the vaccine produced a "strong immune response" to both Omicron BA.1 and the original coronavirus.
The so-called bivalent vaccine refers to the fact that this vaccine can fight both the Omicron mutant strain and the original new coronavirus. Moderna stated that its decision to develop multiple bivalent vaccines is based on the current market's differentiated preferences for subvariant vaccines. The
MHRA also cites an analysis that the vaccine also produced a good immune response to the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, and that no serious safety issues were identified with the vaccine.
After receiving medical regulatory approval, the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) will make recommendations on how to deploy the vaccine in the UK.
Although the existing new crown vaccine can still provide good protection against hospitalization and death, as the new coronavirus continues to mutate, the effectiveness of the vaccine is declining, and more targeted vaccines need to be developed. Stephane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, said that this is a new generation of new crown vaccine and will play an important role in protecting British people from new crown virus infection. We are very pleased that the MHRA has approved our vaccine. June Raine, chief executive of
MHRA, said in a statement: "The first generation of the new crown vaccine being used in the UK provided protection and saved lives. As the new crown virus continues to mutate, this bivalent vaccine provides us A powerful tool that continues to help us fight this disease."
European Medicines Agency(EMA) officials expect a vaccine against Omicron to be approved in the EU in September. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends a new COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant this fall, when public health officials expect a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
In addition to Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to begin delivery of two vaccines against the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus as early as October.
