UK approves first bivalent vaccine against Covid-19

The United Kingdom announced this Monday (15) that it has approved the first bivalent vaccine against Covid-19. The immunizer is manufactured by pharmaceutical company Moderna and has strains of the original virus and the Ômicron variant. The authorization is for it to be used as a booster dose in adults.

The product was approved by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), a kind of Anvisa in England. According to official information, the new vaccine meets the required quality, safety and efficacy standards.

The dose of the immunizer is 50 micrograms. Half of the composition is based on the original strain of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, and the other half works against the omicron variant.

The decision is based on a clinical study that investigated the effectiveness of the vaccine as a booster dose. The research found that the immunizer results in a high level of immunity against the micron. It was also seen that the vaccine generates a good immunological level against BA.4 and BA.5, subvariants of the micron responsible for most of the current cases.

Clinical research also found that when side effects do occur, they are similar to those of Moderna’s other vaccine: a mild condition after injection without needing medical attention.

“The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives. What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharp tool in our arsenal to help us protect against this disease.” disease as the virus continues to evolve,” said June Raide, chief executive of the MHRA.

Since the emergence of the omicron variant, pharmaceutical companies have announced the development of updated vaccines to act against the new strain. However, the adaptations of the immunizers take time to be elaborated.

Due to the delay in vaccine updates, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked manufacturers that new immunizers be based on subvariants of the omicron, BA.4 and BA.5. The agency’s perspective is that by doing so, vaccines would be more effective against more current versions of the virus. However, Pfizer and Moderna said they will not be able to deliver doses against the subvariants before October this year.

Pfizer and Biontech reported that they are working on a universal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The expectation of pharmaceuticals is that the immunizer will be available in the second half of this year.