It is the sixth MHRA-approved coronavirus vaccine. The UK Independent Drug Regulatory Authority is the first in the world to approve Valneva, the Drugs and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) said in a statement. MHRA CEO Dr. June Raine said: “Our approval of the COVID-19 vaccine made today by Valneva follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and efficacy of this vaccine and expert advice from the independent scientific advisory body of the government, the Commission for Human Medicines “. The Valneva vaccine is the first COVID-19 inactivated vaccine to be approved by regulators in the United Kingdom. With this type of vaccine, the virus grows in a laboratory and then becomes completely inactive, so that it can not infect cells or multiply in the body, but can elicit an immune response to the COVID-19 virus. This vaccine-making process is already widely used in the production of vaccines for influenza and polio, the MHRA said. Valneva approval comes as the number of coronavirus deaths recorded each week in England and Wales continues to rise, although levels remain much lower than those achieved during previous waves of the virus.
