CSL staff will be working in the laboratory in Melbourne, Australia on November 8, 2020, where they will begin production of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine.
Darrian Traynor | Getty Images
LONDON – The UK drug regulatory agency on Friday approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergencies in the country.
It is the third shot to be approved in the UK, following previous approvals for the vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, and Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
In a release, the country’s Ministry of Health said the Moderna vaccine meets the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s “strict standards for safety, efficacy and quality.”
It added that the UK had ordered an additional 10 million doses of the vaccine, bringing the total to 17 million. They are expected to be available from spring.
The MHRA approved the Moderna vaccine after months of rigorous clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people, the release said. It added that it is 94% effective in preventing Covid, including in the elderly.
“This is also great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this terrible disease,” Matt Hancock, Minister of Health and Social Affairs, said in a statement.
The UK has already vaccinated about 1.5 million people, and Hancock said Friday’s approval will allow the country to further accelerate its vaccination program.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Britain has reported nearly 2.9 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 78,600 related deaths.
The country is currently battling a new strain of the virus that is more transmissible, and Thursday reported the second highest number of daily deaths from Covid with 1,162.