A TRIPLE SHOT FOR BRITAIN
1 Moderna jab approved – with 17m doses on way
A THIRD Covid jab was approved for British use yesterday in a major boost to the vaccination programme.
The vaccine, made by Us biotech firm Moderna, was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory agency (MHRA) – and now joins those made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Ministers also announced they had secured orders for an additional 10million of the Moderna jab, taking the total up to 17million.
Shipments of the injection, which according to the MHRA should be given in two doses 28 days apart, will arrive in Britain in the spring.
That will come too late to contribute to the Prime Minister’s aim to vaccinate 13million of england’s most vulnerable people by mid-February.
But it will be a vital component of the next wave of the vaccine programme, which will see the remaining priority groups injected, including those aged 50 to 70 and younger people with existing health conditions.
The Moderna vaccine has been shown in trials to be 94 per cent effective at preventing people falling ill with Covid.
MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said: ‘today’s approval brings more encouraging news to the public and the healthcare sector.
‘ Having a third Covid- 19 vaccine approved for supply following a robust and thorough assessment of all the available data is an important goal to have achieved and i am proud that the agency has helped to make this a reality.’ Boris Johnson said last night: ‘Our national vaccine effort is accelerating to vaccinate priority groups with our existing two vaccines, and the Moderna doses will add to that when they become available in spring.’
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘this is fantastic news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease.’ nearly 1.5million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, with inoculation rates expected to significantly accelerate in the coming days.
Dr Charlie Weller, head of vaccines at the Wellcome trust, added: ‘this is another significant milestone in this pandemic.
‘Emergency use authorisation for Moderna’s vaccine from the MHRA is very encouraging and to be in this position in just one year is testament to the incredible collaborative, global research effort. Logistical hurdles remain to rollout all three currently approved vaccines at the speed and the scale required, in the UK or anywhere in the world.’
The Moderna vaccine must be stored and transported at minus 20C, which makes it easier to use than the Pfizer version, which requires storage at minus 70C, but harder than the AstraZeneca jab, which can be stored in a normal fridge at up to 8C. stephane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said: ‘We appreciate the confidence shown by the UK MHRA in Covid-19 vaccine Moderna with this decision – which marks an important step forward in the global fight against Covid-19. the authorisation of a product developed by Moderna is a significant milestone on the company’s tenyear journey, and i would like to thank all our colleagues that have helped us get to this point.’
Kate Bingham, the former head of the UK Vaccine taskforce, last night said the target of vaccinating 13million people in the next six weeks might be exceeded.
‘i’m reasonably confident that these goals will be met and possibly exceeded because of the planning and the teams in place to do it,’ she told the BBC Political thinking programme.
Mrs Bingham also said she was confident Britons would be able to move around the UK relatively freely by the summer. she added: ‘i think the question about summer holidays is how efficient are the other countries at doing the vaccination. What we’ve seen in europe so far has not been that strong.
‘i’d like to see the vaccinations on the continent improving because they’ve not come out of the blocks quickly.’