Moderna becomes third Covid vaccine to be approved for use in UK

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has become the third to be approved by the UK.

The US pharmaceutical company’s jab was given the green light by Britain’s regulator and doses will be available in the spring.

The announcement comes as the rollout of the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines is scaled up to meet Boris Johnson’s target of immunising all care-home patients by the end of the month, with 1,000 vaccination centres expected to be operational by Sunday. 

The government has also purchased an additional 10 million doses of the Moderna vaccine on top of its previous order of 7 million, taking the total to 17 million.

Supplies will begin to be delivered to the UK once Moderna expands its production capability, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) accepted the recommendation of the Commission on Human Medicines and authorised the Moderna vaccine following months of rigorous clinical trials and extensive analysis of the vaccine’s safety, quality and effectiveness.

The jab is 94% effective in preventing disease, including in the elderly.

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Source: The Independent, 8 January 2021