Suella Braverman has welcomed news that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna has been given regulatory approval for supply by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
This announcement follows a thorough and vigorous assessment by the MHRA’s teams of scientists to ensure the vaccine meets the required standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The vaccine is 94% effective in preventing disease, including in the elderly. The government was one of the first to sign an agreement with the company to supply the vaccine on behalf of the UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
The UK has ordered a total of 17 million doses of the vaccine, and supplies will begin to be delivered to the UK from spring once Moderna expands its production capability. Through the Vaccines Taskforce, the UK has secured early access to 367 million doses of 7 of the most promising vaccines so far.
The Moderna vaccine will be deployed through:
- hospital hubs for NHS and care staff and older patients to get vaccinated
- local community services with local teams and GPs already signing up to take part in the programme
- vaccination centres across the country, ensuring people can access a vaccine regardless of where they live
In total, nearly 1.5 million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines, with more than 1,000 vaccination sites live by the end of the week across the UK to rapidly scale up the vaccination programme.
Commenting Suella Braverman Said:
“I am delighted to learn that the Moderna vaccine has been granted approval by the MHRA. As I have stated previously, our best opportunity to end this awful pandemic is through the UK’s world-leading vaccination programme, and I am glad that – as the Health Minister has said – we have now added another weapon to our arsenal. As we continue to immunise those most at risk, it remains critical that we all follow the rules to reduce the virus’ transmission and keep our loved ones safe.”
