The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has today said it has approved Bimervax, the ninth Covid vaccine it has authorised in the UK.

The vaccine from HIPRA Human Health can be injected as a booster in the upper arm of people aged 16 and over. The MHRA said it combines part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein with an adjuvant - another ingredient to “trigger a stronger immune response.”

The MHRA also said its approval of Bimervax was based on clinical evidence drawn from data from a study of 765 adults given two doses of the Comirnaty Covid vaccine as well as a booster dose of either Bimervax or Comirnaty.

The MHRA said “the vaccine demonstrated a strong immune response” while side-effects were “mild and self-resolved within a few days of vaccination.”

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation decides which Covid vaccines are used in the UK and the MHRA grants the marketing authorisation.

The MHRA said people with any allergies listed in the patient information leaflet should not be given Bimervax, which has been authorised in Northern Ireland since March this year.