Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine is set to be authorised for use by the UK’s medicines regulatory body, making it the third vaccine to receive approval.
Vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Pfizer are already authorised and are being administered around the country.
The UK has ordered 17million doses of the Moderna vaccine, however these are not expected to start being delivered until March at the earliest.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in an interview earlier this week that his vaccine could be provide “protection potentially for a couple of years” and will also be effective against several mutations of the coronavirus.
The two-dose Moderna vaccine has already been rolled out in the United States and Canada with authorisation being given by the EU just yesterday.
The Moderna vaccine, gives a 95 per cent effective at preventing illness in clinical trials also offers significant logistical advantages over the Pfizer vaccine as like the AstraZeneca vaccine, it does not need to be stored and transported at sub-zero temperatures.
