UK approves adapted COVID vaccine that targets latest ‘Kraken’ Omicron variant

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved an adapted COVID vaccine that target’s Omicron XBB.1.5.

The variant, nicknamed the ‘Kraken’ has been described as the most transmissible strain so far, and is more efficient and contagious than its predecessors.

The new adapted ‘Spikevax’ vaccine from pharmaceutical company Moderna has been approved for use in individuals from 6 months of age.

The adapted vaccine works in the same way as the original vaccine by causing the immune system (the body’s natural defences) to produce antibodies and blood cells that work against the virus, so giving protection against COVID-19.

MHRA say that all approved adapted COVID-19 vaccines help to improve the protection obtained from earlier doses of the vaccine and help give longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from COVID-19.