Britain approves bivalent vaccine but says people should take any shot

LONDON • The British health authorities said people should take whatever Covid-19 booster shot is offered to them this autumn, even as the country became the first in the world to approve a new two-strain vaccine.

Britain will start providing another round of Covid-19 booster shots to about 26 million patients - aged 50 or above or those with weak immunity - from next month in a bid to bolster defences against further waves of Covid-19 infections this winter.

Patients could receive a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna's original shot, or its bivalent vaccine, which specifically targets the Omicron variant and was only approved by the British drug regulator on Monday.

In exceptional circumstances when no alternative is available, eligible patients may get Novavax's adjuvanted vaccine, the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said in a statement on Monday.

"All of the available booster vaccines offer very good protection against severe illness from Covid-19," said Dr Lim Wei Shen, who heads up the committee's Covid-19 vaccination programme.

"It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn, whichever vaccine is on offer."

Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on Monday became the first in the world to clear Moderna's updated vaccine.

While studies show Moderna's Omicron-targeted shot produces a higher immune response against some variants compared with its original version, the clinical relevance of these small differences is still uncertain, the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said in the statement.

The British government said it intended to use Moderna's bivalent shot throughout the autumn booster campaign but declined to offer details on how many doses are ready for deployment.

BLOOMBERG