UK approves Moderna Covid vaccine, the 3rd in the country

The United Kingdom, on Friday, approved Moderna’s Covid vaccine, the third vaccine to be so approved by the country in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Moderna Covid vaccine, with the green light for use in the UK, joins the earlier approved vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca.

Reports, however, show that Britain won’t get its order until MARCH at the earliest unlike the EU which will hopefully get supplies from next week because it ordered earlier, two days ago.

EU health chiefs struck a deal with the US firm to buy 180 million doses last summer.

Following the approval today, the country placed an order for 17 million doses of the Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine.

Additional report by Daily Mail quoted Health Secretary, Matt Hancock as saying that the effort is another weapon in their arsenal to tame this awful disease.

Business Secretary, Alok Sharma described it as another huge step towards ending lockdown.

The report said: “With Britain now scrambling to vaccinate 13 million vulnerable Britons in the hope of ending the constant cycle of lockdowns by mid-February, an extra jab could have been a blessing.

“Boris Johnson last night revealed he was bringing in the Army to help speed up the UK’s sluggish scheme, as the Prime Minister pledged to deliver 200,000 doses a day by next Friday.

“He also pledged to offer every care home resident a jab by the end of January and announced a new national online booking system that officials hope will drastically speed up the process.

“So far the inoculation drive – the biggest in British history – has been plagued by supply and staffing shortages, logistical problems and bureaucratic barriers strangling its scale-up, meaning only 1.5million have received at least one dose.

“It comes after Moderna’s chief executive last night say it was likely that the firm’s vaccine offers protection for a ‘couple of years’.

“But Stéphane Bancel said more research is needed to determine how long its shot wards off the coronavirus.”

[Courtesy: Daily Mail]

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