The double immunizer fights the original covid-19 virus and its newer versions and will offer better protection against the disease.
The UK became the first country to approve a dual vaccine, which fights the original Covid-19 virus and the new omicron variant.
The updated vaccine will offer better protection against the latest versions of the new coronavirus. The manufacturer Moderna said it could start providing doses in the coming weeks.
Health officials stress that people should take any booster, as all vaccines offer protection.
The original vaccines used in the pandemic were designed to train the body to fight the first form of the virus to emerge in Wuhan, China in late 2019.
Since then, the new coronavirus has substantially mutated, with an influx of new variants that can evade some of our immune defenses. They have caused severe outbreaks around the world.
‘Sharp tool’
Moderna’s vaccine targets both the original strain and the first variant of omcron (BA.1). It is known as a bivalent vaccine, because it aims to combat two forms of covid.
The UK medicines and health products regulatory agency evaluated the tests and approved the vaccine for use in adults.
June Raine, executive director of the regulatory agency, said: “The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines continues to provide important protection against the disease and save lives. What this bivalent vaccine offers us is a valuable one. tool in our arsenal to help protect ourselves from disease as the virus continues to evolve. “
Test results on 437 people showed that the updated vaccine is safe and offers better immune protection against the new variants.
Levels of antibodies that were able to stick to and deactivate omicron (BA.1) were higher in people who received the new vaccine. Tests against the new omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5) have also been shown to have higher levels of protection with the updated vaccine.
However, it is unclear what we will have to address in the coming months and how the updated vaccine will perform.
Stéphane Bancel, the executive director of Moderna, said he was “happy” with the approval of the vaccine.
He said: “This represents the first authorization of a bivalent vaccine containing an omicron. This bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the UK from Covid-19 as we enter the winter months.”
In the UK, health and social care workers will receive some reinforcement; people aged 50 or over; caregivers over the age of 16; people over the age of 5 whose health exposes them to greater risks (this includes pregnant women and people over the age of 5 who share a home with someone with a weakened immune system.
Originally, people between the ages of 50 and 65 would not have been immunized. However, the immunization campaign has been stepped up due to the rapid spread of the variants, the uncertainty that the virus will mutate, and the expectation that we will be more social this winter than in previous years, giving the virus more of a difference.
Moderna isn’t the only company updating its vaccines. Pfizer has also developed immunizations to combat the micron.
– Text originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-62441003
Source: Terra
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