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(Alliance News) - The Moderna Inc coronavirus vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.
The jab is the third to be given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, along with the Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE and the Oxford University and AstraZeneca PLC.
But unlike the previous jabs, the Moderna vaccine will not be available for use straight away, with the first doses not expected to arrive until the spring.
The MHRA accepted the recommendation of the Commission on Human Medicines and authorised the Moderna vaccine following months of rigorous clinical trials.
The vaccine is 94% effective in preventing disease, including in the elderly.
The UK government has also agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the Moderna vaccine on top of its previous order of seven million, taking the total to 17 million.
As agreed when the UK originally pre-ordered the vaccine, supplies will begin to be delivered to the UK from spring once Moderna expands its production capability.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This is further great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease.
"We have already vaccinated nearly 1.5 million people across the UK and Moderna's vaccine will allow us to accelerate our vaccination programme even further once doses become available from the spring.
"While we immunise those most at risk from Covid, I urge everyone to continue following the rules to keep cases low to protect our loved ones."
Separately, the EU could approve the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine by the end of January, the European Medicines Agency said, AFP reports.
By Nina Massey, PA Science Correspondent
source: PA
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