A fifth Covid vaccine has been approved by UK regulators and could be used as a booster jab next winter.
The jab, made by manufacturer Novavax, has been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after safety, quality and effectiveness tests.
Whether it should be offered here and to which patient groups will now be considered by the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination (JCVI).
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “It is great to see our world-renowned medicines regulator approve another Covid-19 vaccine.
“I want the UK to be the best place in the world to conduct clinical trials.
“It’s a testament to the country’s first-rate research and development capabilities for a vaccine with tens of thousands of people taking part in clinical trials here in the UK, contributing to the invaluable research that shows our vaccines are safe and effective.”
It follows approval given for Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Janssen vaccines, although the latter is not currently available here.
Almost 50,000 people were involved in clinical trials for the Novavax-made vaccine, called Nuvaxovid.
Prof Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, said: “Nuvaxovid is distinct from other Covid-19 vaccines currently in use in the UK as it uses recombinant protein-based technology which has been used for many years in the development of vaccines to prevent other illnesses, for example, Hepatitis B.”
Dr Clive Dix, former Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, said: “This is excellent news as the clinical data on this vaccine is excellent and the strong cellular response should make this an excellent vaccine for boosting next winter.
“Not only do we expect a strong durable response but also good stability at fridge temperature so it can be rolled out with the flu vaccine next winter as part of the winter campaign.
“This should replace the need to buy more Pfizer and Moderna vaccine and save the UK government a considerable amount of money.”
