First Covid-19 jab to target two strains included in autumn booster programme

Adults over 50 and clinically vulnerable people will be offered the first Covid-19 jab to target two strains of the virus, as part of the UK’s autumn booster programme.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said Moderna’s new bivalent vaccine, which targets both the original Covid strain and the Omicron variant, will be part of the rollout from early September.

People over the age of five who are classed as most at risk from the virus will be eligible, as will their household contacts, NHS frontline and care home staff and carers aged 16 or over.

The UK became the first nation to authorise the vaccine, described as “next generation” by experts, when the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved it on Monday.

Mr Barclay said those eligible for the autumn booster rollout would be contacted from early September.

He said: “I have accepted the independent advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on which vaccines should be offered in this autumn’s booster programme.

“This includes a Moderna bivalent vaccine which will target two different variants – the Omicron and original strain of Covid.

“Vaccines remain our best defence against Covid, and this safe and effective vaccine will broaden immunity and potentially improve protections against some variants as we learn to live with this virus.

“Our vaccine rollout to date has been world leading – it has already saved countless lives and reduced the pressure on the NHS.

“We will begin to contact those eligible from early September, and I would urge people to come forward as soon as they are invited so together we can keep each other safe and protect our NHS.”

Stephane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna, described it as a “next generation Covid-19 vaccine” which will play an “important role in protecting people in the UK from Covid-19” over the winter.

Moderna’s chief medical officer, Dr Paul Burton, previously said the new jab can boost a person’s antibodies to such high levels that it may only be needed annually.

The MHRA said that the vaccine’s side effects are the same as those seen in the original Moderna booster dose and were typically mild.

Moderna said it has also completed its applications for regulatory approval of the booster in Australia, Canada, and the EU.