A second “bivalent” coronavirus vaccine has been approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for individuals aged 12 and over.

The regulator confirmed on Saturday that Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine had met its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness and had been approved for the UK autumn booster programme.

The vaccine, which targets the original variant of coronavirus and the Omicron variant that emerged at the end of 2021, follows the approval of a similar booster from Moderna in August.

The decision to approve the vaccine was based on data from a clinical trial, which showed that a booster dose with the bivalent Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine triggers a strong immune response against Omicron and the original strain.