UK Regulator Approves COVID-19 Vaccine Developed By French Company Valneva

The United Kingdom is the first country to approve the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the French pharmaceutical company Valneva, making the drug the sixth vaccine authorized in the country, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2022) The United Kingdom is the first country to approve the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the French pharmaceutical company Valneva, making the drug the sixth vaccine authorized in the country, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on Thursday.

"The UK's independent medicines regulator is the first in the world to approve the Valneva vaccine which becomes the sixth COVID-19 vaccine to be granted an MHRA authorization," the statement read.

The Valnela vaccine is also the first inactivated vaccine approved in the UK. Produced by cultivating the virus in the laboratory and deactivating it completely so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body, the vaccine induces an immune response to the coronavirus infection, the statement said, adding that the technology is widely exploited in developing flu and polio vaccines.

"Our approval of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Valneva today follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of this vaccine, and expert advice from the government's independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines," MHRA Chief Executive June Raine said.

The Valneva vaccine was authorized for the use in people aged 18 to 50, with the second doze to be administered with a 28 days interval.

The UK has previously approved five vaccines for the coronavirus, including those produced by BioNTech, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax and Astrazeneca.