Moderna’s vaccine that targets the omicron variant gets its first approval after being cleared by UK regulators

LONDON — Britain’s medicines regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine which aims to protect against the original virus and the omicron variant.

In a statement on Monday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it had given the green light to Moderna’s “bivalent” combination vaccine, which will be used as a booster for adults.

Each booster dose will target both the original Covid-19 virus and the omicron BA.1 variant that was first detected in November. UK regulators said side effects were similar to those seen for the original Moderna booster and were generally “mild and self-limiting”.

“What this (combined) vaccine gives us is a sharp tool in our arsenal to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” said Dr June Raine, head of the UK health body. regulation of health care and medicines.

Such an approach is used with influenza vaccines, which are adjusted annually based on circulating variants and can protect against four influenza strains.

Stephane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, said in a statement that this was the first regulatory approval for a vaccine aimed at combating the omicron variant, predicting the recall would have an “important role” to play in protecting people. people against Covid-19 in winter.

British health officials have yet to decide whether or not the modified vaccine will be used in its fall strategy. In July, the government said everyone aged 50 and over would receive a booster in the fall.

On Friday, Germany’s health minister said the European Medicines Agency could authorize the modified Covid-19 recall next month.

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration told vaccine makers that any modified booster shots for the fall should include protection against the latest omicron variants.

According to the World Health Organization, the latest global outbreak of Covid-19 was caused by the omicron BA.5 subvariant, which is responsible for around 70% of virus samples shared with the largest database. public virus in the world.