A5 leaflet, 'Package leaflet: Information for the user Spikevax bivalent Original / Omicron, last reviewed 12 August 2022

Every person who receives a COVID-19 vaccine dose receives a leaflet from the manufacturer about the vaccine, including possible side effects. The fold out leaflet contains information of how to store the vaccine and what the packaging looks like and the active ingredients in the vaccine. The leaflet also advises a 15 minute wait time following vaccination, although the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation changed this advice in December 2021.

The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the use of the Moderna vaccine on 8 January 2021, the third vaccine to be approved. On 15 August 2021, the MHRA approved the use of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine. This was the first ever vaccine approved for use to target two COVID-19 variants – known as a bivalent vaccine. Half the dose targets the original virus strain from 2020 and the second half targets the Omicron variant. Identified as a variant of concern in November 2021, Omicron spreads more quickly than other strains but can cause less severe illness. Vaccinations lessen the impact of the variant.