The new Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Valneva has now been licensed and approved for use in the UK.

The New 'Valneva' Vaccine

The UK is the first country in the world to approve the new Valneva vaccine, which becomes the sixth vaccine since the pandemic began to be granted an authorisation. It is also the first, whole-virus Covid-19 vaccine to gain regulatory approval.

The vaccine uses more traditional technology similar to how polio and flu vaccines are made. It contains a whole copy of the virus which has been inactivated, so that it can't cause the disease, but does teach the body how to fight it.

As with the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, it is designed to be given as two doses. The vaccine is approved for use in people aged only 18 to 50 years, with the first and second doses to be taken at least 28 days apart.

Trials

In trials, results from volunteers who received the jab had high levels of antibodies against the virus and the vaccine outperformed the AstraZeneca vaccine on this measure in comparison tests.

Experts say it is possible that by using the whole virus, rather than just the spike protein, the vaccine may be more useful against future emerging variants of Covid.

Longer lasting vaccine

Scientists have produced a newer long-lasting vaccine to tackle Covid-19. The newly licensed vaccine is limited in use, due to target age range, and doesn’t say how long immunity lasts. It doesn’t help in the absence of efficacy in those who are high risk and vulnerable.

Sadly, the first vaccines are not protecting enough, even more so if you are immunocompromised. Also, you can still catch and spread the virus. Now the new vaccine with this new age bracket, means many people will not be eligible.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news