The UK has officially become the first country to approve a dual vaccine for covid.
The latest jab hopes to tackle both the original virus and the newer omicron variant with ministers stating the vaccine will form part of the autumn booster campaign.
According to the BBC, Moderna have said that they believe around 13 million doses will be available this year however around 26 million people are thought to be eligible for the booster.
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Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said: “I am pleased to announce the approval of the Moderna bivalent booster vaccine, which was found in the clinical trial to provide a strong immune response against the omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original 2020 strain.
“The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives. What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve. We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved COVID-19 vaccines and this will include the vaccine approved today.”
Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Commission on Human Medicines added: “The Commission on Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Vaccines Expert Working Group has independently reviewed the data on safety, quality and effectiveness and agrees with the MHRA’s decision.
“The virus, SARS-CoV-2, is continually evolving in order to evade the immunity provided by vaccines. This novel bivalent vaccine represents the next step in the development of vaccines to combat the virus, with its ability to lead to a broader immune response than the original vaccine."
So what do you need to know about the vaccine and who is eligible for the booster? Here's what you need to know.
When was the booster approved and is it safe?
Known as the 'bivalent' vaccine, the Gov.uk website states that it has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for some groups of people "after it was found to meet the UK regulator’s standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."
They state that "each dose of the booster vaccine, ‘Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron’, half of the vaccine (25 micrograms) targets the original virus strain from 2020 and the other half (25 micrograms) targets Omicron.
"The MHRA’s decision is based on data from a clinical trial which showed that a booster with the bivalent Moderna vaccine triggers a strong immune response against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original 2020 strain. In an exploratory analysis the bivalent vaccine was also found to generate a good immune response against the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.
"Safety monitoring showed that the side effects observed were the same as those seen for the original Moderna booster dose and were typically mild and self-resolving, and no serious safety concerns were identified."
Who is eligible for the Covid Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron jab vaccine?
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises governments in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, has confirmed the following groups should be offered some form of booster in the autumn:
- Health and social care staff
- Everyone aged 50 and over
- Carers who are over the age of 16
- People over five whose health puts them at greater risk, this includes pregnant women
- People over five who share a house with somebody with a weakened immune system
Prof Wei Shen Lim, from the JCVI, said: "It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn, whichever vaccine is on offer."
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