- The UK has approved the J&J coronavirus vaccine for use.
- The country is currently using the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines as well.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The UK’s medicines regulator has approved the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine for use in the country.
Dr. June Raine, chief executive at the Medicines Health and Regulatory Authority (MHRA), said in a press release Friday that the UK regulator had undertaken a thorough review of the vaccine’s quality, safety, and effectiveness and a Conditional Marketing Authorization had been granted.
The authorization means that any Brit over the age of 18 can now receive J&J’s shot, which was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe coronavirus in trials.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the approval was “a further boost to the UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme.”
The shot will be available for use later this year, the BBC reported.
Currently the Oxford University-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines are being used in the UK. More than 38.6 million people of the UK’s 66 million strong population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to government figures.
J&J’s vaccine was authorized in US on February 27. So far, more than 10.5 million Americans have received the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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