LONDON (Sputnik) – COVID-19 vaccines that are modified to combat new coronavirus variants will not need to go through more time-consuming clinical studies to get.
Britain's medical regulator on Thursday said it would fast-track vaccines for coronavirus variants, adding that the makers of already-authorised shots would not need new lengthy clinical trials to prove their adapted vaccines will work. There is concern that some variants, such as those first found in South Africa and Brazil, may reduce the efficacy of the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines, and manufacturers are looking to adapt their shots. The accelerated process is based on that used for seasonal flu vaccines each year, the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said, and would be based on robust evidence that the shots create an immune response, rather than full clinical trials.
Previously authorized vaccines that are modified to combat new variants 'will not need a brand new approval or ‘lengthy’ clinical studies,' Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said