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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a second "bivalent" vaccine as a Covid-19 booster. The updated booster vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech, targeting two coronavirus variants, has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above. In each dose of the booster vaccine, 'Comirnaty bivalent Original/Omicron', half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.1). Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive said: "I am pleased to announce that we now have a second approved vaccine for the UK Autumn booster programme. The clinical trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent vaccine showed a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original strain. Bivalent vaccines are helping us to meet the challenge of an ever-evolving virus, to help protect people against Covid-19 variants. We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for all UK-approved Covid-19 vaccines, and this will include the updated booster we approved today."

Health secretary Sajid Javid urged people to book a Covid-19 booster shot on Wednesday (December 1) as he said there were 22 confirmed cases of the Omicron virus variant in the country. Javid said the government believed a booster campaign would help protect against severe disease from Omicron, even if it turns out that vaccines are not as effective against the variant as previous strains of the disease. He said he hoped to know more about Omicron within two weeks, as scientists work to understand what impact the new variant will have on transmissibility and serious disease. "At this point in time the case numbers are very low," Javid told Sky News. "For the UK we've got 22 confirmed cases at the moment and that will go up, it will certainly go up." Britain plans to offer all adults a Covid-19 booster shot by the end of January. Government data shows 81 per cent of the population aged over 12 have had two doses of the vaccine while 32 per cent have had a booster shot or third dose.

The University of Oxford on Tuesday said there was no evidence that vaccines would not prevent severe disease from Omicron, but that it was ready to rapidly develop an updated version of its vaccine developed with AstraZeneca if necessary. Earlier on Tuesday, the head of drugmaker Moderna said that Covid-19 shots were unlikely to be as effective against the variant, jolting global markets. The University of Oxford said that there was limited data on Omicron so far, and that it would carefully evaluate the impact of the variant on its shot, echoing an AstraZeneca statement last week. "Despite the appearance of new variants over the past year, vaccines have continued to provide very high levels of protection against severe disease and there is no evidence so far that Omicron is any different," it said in a statement.

French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday (June 13) an upgraded version of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with GSK showed potential in two trials to protect against the virus's main variants of concern, including the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 strains, when used as a booster shot. While the two companies' first experimental Covid shot is undergoing review by the European Medicines Agency, Sanofi and GSK have continued work on a vaccine that is moulded on the now-supplanted Beta variant, hoping still that it will confer broad protection against future viral mutations. Sanofi said this new vaccine candidate was shown to significantly boost antibody levels against a number of variants of concern, when given to trial participants who had an initial course of mRNA vaccines, a type made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. In a separate trial conducted by a French hospitals network, Sanofi's Beta-adapted booster shot triggered a higher immune response than Sanofi's first-generation shot or Pfizer-BioNTech's established vaccine in previously vaccinated volunteers.

Britain has become the first country to approve a Codiv-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron variant of the virus. Medicines regulator MHRA approved the so-called bivalent vaccine made by US drug company Moderna as a booster for adults. The agency's decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered "a strong immune response" against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original 2020 virus, it said. The MHRA also cited an exploratory analysis in which the shot was also found to generate a good immune response against the currently dominant Omicron offshoots BA.4 and BA.5. "The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives," MHRA chief executive June Raine said in a statement. "What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve."

There is no sign of a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Britain so far, the chief of the UK Health Security Agency said on Tuesday, adding that there was no rise in the proportion of tests with a quirk that distinguishes it from Delta. Jenny Harries said there were five confirmed Omicron cases in England and 10 "highly likely" cases, but that was not a sign of an increase in "S-gene target failure" in PCR tests in Britain, which is a feature of Omicron. "Right across the country we watch for… S-gene target failure, which is a sort of proxy measure," Harries told BBC radio. Cases with S-gene target failure can then be prioritised for full genomic sequencing.

Existing Covid-19 inoculations will struggle against the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the head of vaccine manufacturer Moderna warned on Tuesday (November 30), as countries ramp up vaccination programmes and impose further restrictions in an effort to curb growing concern. First reported to the World Health Organization in South Africa less than a week ago, the new strain has rapidly spread from Africa to the Pacific, and from Europe to North America as dozens of countries have announced travel restrictions. While no deaths have yet been reported from Omicron, and it could take weeks to know how infectious and how resistant the strain may prove to vaccines, its emergence underscores how besieged the world remains by Covid-19, nearly two years after the first cases were recorded. Stephane Bancel, the head of US vaccine manufacturer Moderna, told the Financial Times in an interview published today that data would be available on the effectiveness of vaccines in the two weeks' time, but that scientists were pessimistic.

Britain will offer a Covid-19 booster shot to all adults and could halve the dose interval for booster jabs from six to three months in a bid to accelerate its vaccination programme amid concern over the new Omicron coronavirus variant, as number of new cases found in the country rise. The move, backed by a scientific advisory body and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, comes as ministers scramble to react swiftly to the new variant, which was first detected in South Africa. Prime minister Boris Johnson has responded to the emergence of Omicron by making mask-wearing compulsory in shops and on public transport in England. Until now, only adults in the UK aged 40 and above were eligible for a booster dose six months after their last. But that timeframe will now be halved to three months, alongside the programme's expansion to all over-18s, with priority given to older people. "These measures will protect more people, more quickly and make us better protected as a nation," Javid told MPs.

A fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine is not needed at present, as latest data shows first booster provides high levels of protection against Omicron variant among older adults, says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). After analysing latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), JCVI said: "There is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, or fourth jab, to the most vulnerable". Data from UKSHA revealed that single booster dose provides around 90 per cent protection against hospitalisation to those aged 65 and over, even after three months of jab. However, protection against mild symptomatic infection is short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months. The study, which looked at booster doses in those aged over 65, showed that with two vaccine doses, protection against the infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months.

It is not sustainable to give Covid-19 booster shots every three to six in the long term, Britain's chief scientific adviser said on Tuesday (January 4), even though the booster rollout is needed in the short term to combat the Omicron variant. "It would be a situation that isn't tenable to say everyone's going to need to be having another vaccine every three or six months. "That's not the long-term view of where this goes to," Patrick Vallance said at a news conference, adding that annual booster shots against Covid-19 might be necessary, similar to flu shots.

Around 90 percent of coronavirus patients in intensive care units have not had a booster jab, prime minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday (December 29) - defending his decision not to tighten virus curbs in England. Speaking at a vaccination centre, Johnson urged people to get "vital" booster jabs, saying "the overwhelming majority" of those currently going into intensive care in our hospitals have not had the booster jab. "I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90 percent of people in intensive care who are not boosted," the prime minister added in Milton Keynes in Hertfordshire. Those who have not been vaccinated are "eight times more likely to get into hospital," he warned. The UK has been hit by a huge surge of the new Omicron variant, with England and Wales reporting record case numbers on Tuesday. The UK has been one of Europe's worst hit with a death toll of 148,021.

Daily hospital admissions in Britain could soon hit a new high because the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading so fast, piling pressure on a health service struggling with staff sickness, England's chief medical officer said on Thursday (December 16). Britain recorded on Wednesday its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic at 78,610. Omicron is so transmissible that even if it proves to be milder than other variants, it could still cause a surge in hospital admissions, Chris Whitty told lawmakers. The record for the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is 4,583 set in January. "It is possible, because this is going to be very concentrated over a short period of time, even if it's milder, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day," he said.

Prime minister Boris Johnson received his Covid-19 booster shot on Thursday (December 2) and urged others to follow suit to help the country fend off the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Wearing a mask, Johnson briefly chatted to staff and others queuing for their shots at the vaccination centre in central London, asking them if they were there to receive a booster dose and thanking them for attending. Johnson, who said it could "have gone either way" when he was treated in hospital for Covid last year, was later filmed rolling up his shirt sleeve and receiving his shot. "Fantastic. Thank you so much," he said to the nurse, before receiving a badge that said "I've boosted my immunity".

New mask mandates and other measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant came into England today, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson eyes an expanded booster programme to help increase protection against Covid-19. From Tuesday morning (November 30), face masks are compulsory on transport and in shops, banks and hair salons. All international travellers must take a PCR test by the end of the second day after they arrive, and self-isolate until they get their result. That is in addition to restrictions on arrivals from 10 southern African countries, who have to enter hotel quarantine. Britain has reported 11 cases of the Omicron variant so far, and while the government says this number will rise, it says it is important to slow its spread until more is known about the variant's transmissibility and impact on vaccines.

The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme has administered more than 40 million second doses following a bumper week that saw over 200,000 people coming forward for their second jab. Last week, more than 65,000 people aged 18 and over also stepped up to get their first dose of the Covid-19 jab. The NHS continued to encourage people to come forward for their first, second or third doses. Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that two doses of the vaccine are not enough to avoid the Omicron infection, but a booster significantly increases protection against the variant. Since the start of vaccination programme, NHS England has administered more than 113 million jabs in total. However, more than 1.1 million people aged 18 and over have still not come forward for their second dose.

Health and social care workers in England, including those working in community pharmacy, will no longer have to have a Covid jab as a condition of employment from later this month, the government said on Tuesday (March 1). The government had announced on January 31 that it intended to revoke the regulations that made vaccination compulsory, subject to the results of a public consultation. The decision was taken because the Omicron strain of the virus was less severe than the Delta variant, and due to high rates of vaccination of people in the UK. Health secretary Sajid Javid told parliament in a written statement that more than 90,000 health and social care workers and members of the public responded to the consultation.

The NHS Confederation has urged the government to reconsider its 'living with Covid' plan and introduce mitigating actions that will help avoid further critical incidents being declared at the NHS front-line. The organisation said the high rates of Covid is having a major impact on the delivery of health services and slowing down efforts to reduce large waiting lists, noting that the country has been in the grip of another spike in Covid cases resulting from the Omicron BA.2 variant. With more than 20,000 patients now in hospital with Covid (or who have Covid but are in hospital for other reasons) and high staff absences, NHS is facing huge operational challenges, harming efforts to reduce waiting times in other areas, it said.