A Covid-19 vaccine being produced in Scotland has been given the go-ahead by the UK's regulatory body.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have granted regulatory approval to French firm Valneva - which has a factory in Livingston near Edinburgh.
The UK's independent medicines regulator is the first in the world to approve the vaccine, now the sixth coronavirus vaccine to be authorised by the body.
Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: "Our approval of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Valneva today follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of this vaccine, and expert advice from the government’s independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines."
The UK had been due to receive 100 million doses of the French firm’s jab, but the Government cancelled the deal in September due to a “breach of obligations”.
It is the first whole virus inactivated to gain a green light in the UK.
With this type of vaccine, the virus is grown in a lab and then made completely inactive so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body but can still trigger an immune response.
The process is widely used in the production of flu and polio vaccines.
It has been approved for use in people aged between 18 to 50 with the first and second doses to be taken at least 28 days.
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