UK first to approve Omicron COVID vaccine with Moderna approval
The MHRA's Moderna decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered "a strong immune response" against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original virus, it said.;
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UK first to approve Omicron COVID vaccine with Moderna approval
London: Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus.
The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) gave the so-called bivalent vaccine made by U.S. drug company Moderna conditional approval as a booster for adults on Monday.
Later on Monday, the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) backed the use of the variant-adapted shot in the country's booster campaign starting September.
The MHRA's Moderna decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered "a strong immune response" against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original virus, it said.
Moderna in June said trial data showed that when given as a fourth dose, the variant-adapted shot raised virus-neutralizing antibodies by eight-fold against Omicron.
Moderna, which signed a 1 billion pound ($1.2 billion) deal with the British government to build the country's first mRNA vaccine facility earlier this year, on Monday said it expected further approvals for the adapted vaccine in Australia, Canada, and the EU in the coming weeks.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech have also been testing versions of their mRNA vaccine modified to combat Omicron variants.
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