Can you choose which Covid vaccine you get as Moderna is rolled out in the UK?
Do you get to pick your jab?
The first Moderna Covid-19 vaccine was administered in the UK on Wednesday, adding to the two jabs already in circulation.
The Moderna vaccine has been found to be more than 90% effective in a real-world study in the US, and the UK has ordered 7 million doses.
With three vaccines available in the UK, and all adult Brits set to be offered a dose by early June, can you pick which jab you receive?
Here’s all you need to know before you book your vaccine appointment.
Which Covid vaccines are currently available?
There are currently three vaccines available in the UK:
- Oxford/AstraZeneca – 100 million doses
- Pfizer/BioNTech – 40 million
- Moderna – 17 million doses
The UK government has purchased doses of eight different vaccines but most have not been approved yet.
The following vaccines are still awaiting Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval, and then they will be rolled out in the UK:
- Valneva – 100 million doses
- GlaxoSmithKline – 60 million doses
- Novavax – 60 million doses
- Janessen – 30 million doses
Once the vaccines have been approved by the MHRA, they tend to be rolled out to the population promptly – for example, the Pfizer jab was first given to a Brit less than a week after its approval.
The government has also struck a deal with biopharmaceutical company CureVac to develop vaccines against future variants, and has placed an initial order for 50 million doses.
Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England’s medical director for primary care, told Sky News in late-March that the UK has secured enough jabs to give all adults in the UK both doses.
Can I choose which vaccine I get?
No, you cannot choose which Covid-19 vaccine you receive.
You won’t know which vaccine you’ll get until you turn up for your appointment.
However, the MHRA has suggested that under 30s should not be given the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine amid blood clot concerns.
The NHS website stats that the UK’s vaccine programme is offering vaccines in line with the supply of vaccines, and so the option to choose is not available.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the NHS assure that whichever vaccine you get will be highly effective and will protect you from coronavirus, and they have expressed no preference.
You will have to have two doses of the same vaccine.
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