The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Pfizer's modified version of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine as a booster on September 3.
This bivalent vaccine is for people 12 years of age and older.
The MHRA said the decision was based on clinical trial data.
The data showed that Pfizer's bivalent vaccine, used as a booster, produced a strong immune response against Omicron and the original virus strain.
In each booster dose of "Comirnaty Bivalent Original/Omicron" vaccine, half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) is against the original virus strain, and the other half (15 micrograms) is against Omicron (BA.1).
Safety monitoring showed that the side effects observed were the same as those seen with the booster dose of the original vaccine and were generally mild and self-resolving, and no new serious safety concerns were identified.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorizations to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's new vaccine boosters on August 31, 2022, respectively.
The new vaccine targets the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 mutant strains and is expected to be more protective than current vaccines.
The picture is a photo provided by the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in August 2022, showing the production of the updated vaccine in Michigan.
(AP)
MHRA announced approval of a targeted, updated Moderna vaccine on August 15.
It targets the original version of the new coronavirus and the Omicron variant.
The UK is the first country in the world to approve a vaccine against a variant virus.
The "Guardian" said that from September 5, millions of people living in nursing homes, staff and homeless people in the UK will be invited to receive boosters to prevent the spread of the epidemic in autumn and winter.
Other healthcare workers and high-risk groups, including those over 75 and those with weakened immune systems, can make appointments for boosters starting on the 7th.
The "Pfizer vaccine" was jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
The commercial Chinese name of the vaccine, called BNT162b2, in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau is "Fubitai", and its introduction and commercialization are the responsibility of BioNTech's partner Fosun Pharma.
Epidemic ｜ US FDA approves new bivalent vaccine to replace old vaccines to provide protection In response to Omicron bivalent Moderna vaccine outbreak｜The world's first UK approval of Moderna's first bivalent vaccine against Omicron