US jag with high level of protection could arrive in UK by spring

A“tremendously exciting” US coronavirus vaccine that may offer very high levels of protection against Covid19 could arrive in the UK as early as next spring, the government has said.

British scientists have hailed the news that US firm Moderna’s jab may be 94.5% effective against the illness.

Interim data suggests the jab is highly effective in preventing people getting ill and may work across all age groups, including the elderly.

The UK has already secured 40 million doses of a vaccine from Pfizer/ BioNTech, which uses the same technology as Moderna.

A government spokesman said: “The news from Modern a appears to be good and represents another significant step towards finding an effective Covid-19 vaccine.

“As part of the ongoing work of the Vaccines Task force, the government is in advanced discussions with Moderna to ensure UK access to their vaccine as part of the wider UK portfolio.

“Moderna are currently scaling up their European supply chain which means these doses would become available in spring 2021 in the UK at the earliest.”

Scientists said the news bodes well for other Covid-19 vaccines, with the one for Oxford University and UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca due to report in the coming days or weeks.

Moderna’s final-stage clinical trial is ongoing and includes more than 30,000 people in the US.

The interim analysis included 95 participants with confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which 90 had received the placebo and five the active vaccine.

The 95 cases included 15 older adults – aged 65 and over – as well as 20 people who were not white, including 12 from Hispanic or L atino/a backgrounds , four African-Americans, three Asian-Americans and one who was multiracial.

Severe cases of coronavirus were also examined, including 11 in the first interim analysis.

All 11 cases occurred in the placebo group and none in the group which had received the vaccine.