to approve Moderna's Omicron-specific Covid jab — with over-50s expected to be boosted with new vaccine in WEEKS
The UK has become the first country in the world to approve an Omicron-specific Covid booster that could be rolled out this autumn as the nation prepares for a dire winter.
Made by Covid jab maker Moderna, the new vaccine has been designed to target Omicron specifically and may only be needed once a year.
It differs from the current generation of vaccines that are based on the original Wuhan strain and are therefore less effective against newer versions of the virus.
UK regulators hailed the approval as providing a new 'tool in the armoury' against the 'continually evolving' foe.
While designed to target original Omicron variant BA.1 which ripped through the country at the end of 2021 Modern's jab is also effective against BA.4 and BA.5.
These newer versions of the Omicron strain were behind a recent meteoric spike in Covid cases which has now in retreat.
The new Moderna vaccine is likely to be rolled out as part of the recently announced autumn booster campaign.
Britons over the age of 50 and those with medical condition which make them vulnerable to a Covid infection will start to be called for a booster next month.
Health officials are keen to get as many people jabbed as possible with the aim of keeping them out of hospital as the NHS reaches its seasonally busiest period.
Chief executive of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Dr June Raine, said the new jab offered a new weapon in the fight against Covid.
'The first generation of Covid 19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives,' she said.
'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.'
Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, a panel of experts which advises Government on drugs, said new vaccines were needed to keep up with Covid.
'The virus, SARS-CoV-2, is continually evolving in order to evade the immunity provided by vaccines,' he said.
'This novel bivalent vaccine represents the next step in the development of vaccines to combat the virus, with its ability to lead to a broader immune response than the original vaccine.'
The MHRA said the vaccine's side effects are the same as those seen in the original Moderna booster dose and were typically mild.
A Moderna trial of their new vaccine on 800 people found it increased antibodies 5.4-fold against Omicron compared to the older vaccine.
Moderna's chief medical officer, Dr Paul Burton, previously said that the new jab could boost a person's antibodies to such high levels that it may only be needed annually.
The company's chief executive Stéphane Bancel said the UK was taking the lead in using the latest advances to protect its people from Covid and end the pandemic.