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Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 booster approved
Second Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine approved by UK medicines regulator
This adapted COVID-19 vaccine targets both the original virus and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants.
Approval has been granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for a Pfizer/BioNTech ‘bivalent’ Covid vaccine that targets both the Original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants. The updated booster vaccine is the second bivalent vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech to receive MHRA approval, after it was found to meet the UK regulator’s standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The vaccine has been approved for use as a booster dose in individuals aged 12 years and above.
This decision has been endorsed by the Commission on Human Medicines, after a careful review of the evidence.
In each dose of the booster vaccine, half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.4-5).
