Covid: UK approves Moderna's Omicron booster

The UK has become the first country to approve a dual vaccine which tackles both the original Covid virus and the newer Omicron variant.

The upgraded vaccine should be available as an autumn booster and give better protection against variants.

Moderna said it could supply 29 million doses this year, but exactly who will get them has yet to be announced.

All over-50s and people in high-risk groups will be offered some form of booster from next month.

The original vaccines used in the pandemic were designed to train the body to fight the first form of the virus that emerged in Wuhan, in China, at the end of 2019.

The Covid virus has since mutated substantially, with a stream of new variants emerging that can dodge some of our immune defences. They have caused large surges in cases around the world.

Moderna's vaccine targets both the original strain and the first Omicron variant (BA.1), which emerged last winter. It is known as a bivalent vaccine as it takes aim at two forms of Covid.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has considered the evidence and given the vaccine approval for use in adults.

Dr June Raine, the regulator's chief executive, 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."

Levels of antibodies that were able to stick to and disable Omicron (BA.1) were eight times higher with the new vaccine than Moderna's old one.

Tests against more recent Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5), which are causing the UK's current wave, also showed higher levels of protection with the updated vaccine.

However, while there is better protection against known variants, it is uncertain what we will be facing in the coming months and exactly how well the updated vaccine will perform.

Stéphane Bancel, the chief executive officer of Moderna, said he was "delighted" the vaccine had been approved.

He said: "This represents the first authorization of an Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine, this bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the UK from Covid-19 as we enter the winter months."

In the UK, the following people will be offered some form of booster:

Originally those aged 50-65 were not going to be jabbed. However, the immunisation campaign has been expanded because of the fast spread of variants, uncertainty about how the virus will mutate and the expectation that we will be more social this winter than in previous years - giving the virus more chance to spread.