The Covid-19 vaccine made by the drug company Moderna has been licensed for use in the UK.
The Moderna vaccine is the third vaccine after Pfizer / BioNTech and AstraZeneca / Oxford University sights have been approved for use by UK regulators.
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The UK had ordered an additional 10 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, bringing the total order to 17 million.
The Moderna vaccine was 94% effective in preventing coronavirus in a trial. The health department said in a statement that the vaccine would be released in the spring.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “This is great news and another tool in our arsenal to destroy this terrible disease.
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“We have already vaccinated almost 1.5 million people across the UK and the Moderna vaccine will allow us to further accelerate our vaccination program when doses become available in the spring.
“While we vaccinate those most at risk from Covid, I urge everyone to continue to follow the rules to keep things low for our loved ones. to protect. “
England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said: “The highly effective Moderna vaccine is another remarkable achievement in science and a further testament to the hard work of researchers and volunteers. self-efficacy clinical trial.
“This vaccine will save lives once doses are available, but it is important that we all follow the rules to protect each other so that enough people are protected. “
Nearly 1.5m people in the UK have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford University / AstraZeneca vaccines, the Department of Health said.
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