The UK’s drug regulator, the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), authorized the vaccine “after months of rigorous clinical trials that included tens of thousands of people and a thorough safety analysis , vaccine quality and efficacy, ”the Department of Health. he wrote.
“This is great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this terrible disease,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement.
The UK government has agreed to buy an additional 10 million doses of the Modern vaccine in addition to its previous order of 7 million, for a total of 17 million, according to the statement.
Supplies will begin to be delivered in the UK starting this spring once Modern expands its production capacity, he added.
“We have already vaccinated almost 1.5 million people across the UK and the Moderna vaccine will allow us to further accelerate our vaccination program once doses are available starting in the spring,” Hancock said.
Their results are similar to those of the Povizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine because they use the same technique to activate the body’s immune system.
Vaccines supply messenger RNA or mRNA, which is a genetic recipe for making peaks that are at the top of the coronavirus. Once injected, the body’s immune system produces antibodies against the peaks. If a vaccinated person is later exposed to the coronavirus, these antibodies should be ready to attack the virus.
The Moderna vaccine can be kept below 20 degrees Celsius. Other vaccines, such as chickenpox, should also be kept at this temperature.
On Wednesday, the European Commission also authorized the use of the Modern coronavirus vaccine in the 27 member countries of the European Union, hours after the European Medicines Agency recommended it.