UK Medicines Regulator Approves Third Covid-19 Vaccine For Use

A third coronavirus vaccine has now been approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Produced by the company Moderna, this vaccine will reportedly work in a similar way to the Pfizer one which is already available through the NHS.

So far, an approximate 1.5 million people across the UK have had at least one dose of the vaccine. This figure includes nearly one quarter of those in England who are aged 80 or over.

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.

The progress we are now making for vaccines on the regulatory front, whilst not cutting any corners, is helping in our global fight against this disease and ultimately helping to save lives. I want to echo that our goal is always to put the protection of the public first.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Expert Working Group of the Independent Commission on Human Medicines, said:

We are delighted to be able to give a positive recommendation for the Moderna vaccine which will help in the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

As with all the COVID-19 vaccine data we have seen to date, we have ensured a robust and thorough safety assessment has been carried out with the independent experts that sit on this group.

The Moderna vaccine is reported to have produced equally strong results during late-stage clinical trials as the Pfizer/BioNTech version, showing an efficacy of 94%. However, this latest vaccine had not been included in the portfolio of vaccines bought by the UK until the results were released.