UK approves first bivalent vaccine

Ministers have said that the vaccine will now form part of the autumn booster campaign. Despite twenty-six million people eligible for some form of booster, Moderna thinks that only thirteen million doses of its newest vaccine will be available this year. Health officials advise people to take whichever booster they are offered as they all provide considerable protection.
The initial vaccine used in the pandemic was intended to fight the first form of the virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. The virus has mutated substantially, with a stream of new variants emerging that can dodge some of our immune defences. These have caused some large surges in cases around the world.
Companies are tweaking the original vaccine, which still provides strong protection against becoming severely ill or dying, in order to match the virus as it evolves.
In the UK, cases of coronavirus are currently falling. In July, around two-and-a-half million people tested positive for coronavirus.
Moderna’s newest bivalent vaccine, Spikevax, targets the first Omicron variant (BA.1), which emerged last winter, and the original strain. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has approved the vaccine for adults after considering the evidence.
The regulator’s chief executive, Dr June Raine, stated: “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.”
Trials on four hundred and thirty-seven people showed that the newest vaccine was safe and improved immune protection against newer variants.