London, Europe Brief News – Britain has approved Novavax’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use in adults. This has brought a fifth coronavirus shot to the country.
The vaccine was approved for use in Britons aged 18 years and older as it met the required effectiveness standards.
The move came as the country is confronting the rapid spread of the Omicron variant led to spike in cases.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid says independent scientists on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will now consider its use.
“It’s a testament to the country’s first-rate research and development capabilities for vaccines,” Mr Javid said, “with tens of thousands of people taking part in clinical trials here in the UK, contributing to the invaluable research that shows our vaccines are safe and effective.”
“It is great to see our … medicines regulator approve another COVID-19 vaccine. … The next step will be for the independent Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination to consider its use as part of the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme,” Javid added.
Novavax’s protein-based vaccine uses a different technology from currently approved vaccines and gives Britain another option.
“We suspect that those who haven’t been vaccinated yet may be now more inclined to be vaccinated (with a traditional vaccine such as Novavax’s),” said Paul Heath, leader of the UK trial and professor of paediatric infectious diseases at the University of London.
Half of Europe to catch Omicron
The World Health Organization (WHO) has earlier said that half of Europe will catch Omicron.
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said a “west-to-east tidal wave” of Omicron was sweeping across the region. The Delta variant is on top of a surge, he added.
The projection was based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022.
The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period.
“Today the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021,” Dr Kluge told a news conference.
He quoted the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as forecasting that “more than 50 percent of the population in the region will test positive for Omicron in the next six to eight weeks”.
The WHO has earlier warned of ‘tsunami’ of COVID cases in the near future. The declaration was due to Omicron spread.
