The UK is the first country to approve Moderna’s new dual booster vaccine, which offers a “broader immune response” by targeting two covid variants at once - the original virus strain from 2020 and Omicron. It is not yet known who will be offered the booster.
This vaccine, known as a bivalent vaccine due to its ability to target two variants, was approved for use as adult booster doses by the UK Government’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It was also endorsed by the Commission on Human Medicines - the government’s independent expert scientific advisory body.
It is called the ‘Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron’ vaccine and contains two different solutions that each target a different strain. Half of the vaccine, 25 micrograms, will target the original covid-19 variant that emerged in 2020. The other half will target the newer Omicron BA.1 variant.
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A clinical trial was carried out with a strong immune response against both Omicron and the original strain seen in patients who had been given the booster. Additionally, the vaccine booster also helped generate a healthy immune response to the omicron sub-variants such as BA.4 and BA.5.
Are there any new side effects from Moderna’s new vaccine?
The new booster vaccine - Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron - was found to have the same “typically mild and self-resolving” side effects as the original Moderna booster dose. These include very common side effects including swelling or tenderness of the underarm glands on the same side as the injection site, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle ache, joint aches, and stiffness, feeling very tired, chills, and fever, the MHRA states.
The UK Government stated: “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 will get the Moderna’s new booster vaccine?
The booster was approved for adult doses. It has not yet been decided how the vaccine will be offered to the population, with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) set to advise on the deployment programme, the Government states.
Why is the covid vaccine booster needed?
Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said the new vaccine was a “sharpened tool” in the UK’s battle against covid and could “save lives” as the “virus continues to evolve”.
She said: “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 who endorsed the booster 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.”
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