British regulator 1st to OK Moderna’s updated COVID booster

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that includes protection against the omicron variant, which the government said would now be offered to people aged 50 and over in the fall. In a statement on Monday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency says it has given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot. Such an approach is used with flu shots, which are adjusted each year depending on the variants that are circulating and can protect against four influenza strains.