The British drug regulator announced on Saturday that it has approved a new generation of the Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical company Pfizer/BioNTech, targeting the Omicron variant.
In a statement, the UK regulator added that this version of the vaccine consists of a so-called “bivalent” booster dose, targeting half of the original strain of the virus and half of the Omicron variant (BA.1).
“It was approved for booster doses for adults by the UK regulator, who concluded it met standards of safety, quality and efficacy,” says the Agency, which says it approves the adult vaccine.
In mid-August, the UK was the first country to allow a similar vaccine, developed by the Moderna lab and also targeting Omicron, the most common variant in Europe.
The announcement of this decision comes as the country prepares to offer a booster dose of the covid vaccine from Monday to millions of citizens in England and Scotland, including those over 50, with priority for those living in nursing homes.
“I am pleased to announce that this fall we have approved a second vaccine for the booster program,” said June Raine, director of the Agency for Medicines.
The new vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have been approved by the United States and the European Medicines Agency in recent days. Both vaccines also target two rapidly spreading Omicron subvariants: BA.4 and BA.5.
The UK is one of the most affected countries in Europe by the pandemic, with nearly 180,000 deaths since early 2020.
Although vaccination-related deaths have fallen sharply, the UK is regularly hit by large waves of infection. However, it was one of the first in Europe to lift all restrictions last winter.
Source: DN
