British drug regulators become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that aims to protect against the original virus and the omicron variant.
“What this vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armory to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” said Dr. June Raine, the head of Britain’s health care and medicines regulator.
Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s Chief Executive, said in a statement that it was the first regulatory authorization for a vaccine aiming to fight the omicron variant, predicting the booster would have an “important role” to play in protecting people against Covid-19 in the winter. On Friday, Germany’s health minister said the European Medicines Agency might clear the tweaked Covid-19 booster next month.