This vaccine formula consists of a so-called “bivalent” booster dose, targeting half the original strain of the virus and half the Omicron variant.
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A first in the world according to Moderna. The British medicines regulator (MHRA) announced on Monday August 15 that it had approved a new generation of the American laboratory’s Covid-19 vaccine, specific to the Omicron variant. This version of the vaccine consists of a so-called “bivalent” booster dose, targeting half the original strain of the virus and half the Omicron variant.
This vaccine formula “provokes a strong immune response” against both strains, including against Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, the MHRA said (link in English). She “has been approved for booster doses for adults by the MHRA who concluded that it meets the UK regulator’s safety, quality and efficacy standards”added the drug agency.
The observed side effects are “typically weak” and similar to those observed for the original vaccines, it is specified. “What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharper tool in our toolbox to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve.”underlined the director of the MHRA, June Raine.
He noted that the United Kingdom thus became the first country to approve a bivalent vaccine partly targeting Omicron, the variant that has become the most widespread in Europe. The European Commission for its part announced, on August 9, 15 million additional doses of this version of the vaccine, subject to its approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European regulator also declared, on August 10, to aim the approval in the fall of an anti-Covid vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech targeting the two sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.