A third coronavirus vaccine is being rolled out in the UK, with people in Wales receiving the first doses of the Moderna vaccine today.

The UK has bought 17 million doses of that vaccine – enough for 8.5 million people.

Jabs will be given out at West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen in what has been hailed as “another key milestone” in the fight against coronavirus.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “delighted we can start the UK rollout of the Moderna vaccine in west Wales today”.

He added: “The UK government has secured vaccines on behalf of the entire nation and the vaccination programme has shown our country working together at its best.”

Wales Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “This is another key milestone in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The rollout will start in England “as soon as possible this month”, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said, but added that commercial sensitivities prevented further disclosures.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Tuesday that the Moderna jab would be deployed “around the third week of April”.

More than 31 million first doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in the UK, according to Government data up to April 5, while more than five million second doses have been given out.

What do we know about the Moderna vaccine?

Effectiveness - The phase three results suggested vaccine efficacy against the disease was 94.1 per cent, and vaccine efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 100 per cent.

More than 30,000 people in the US took part in the trial, from a wide range of age groups and ethnic backgrounds.

Two doses were given 28 days apart so researchers could evaluate safety and any reaction to the vaccine.

How it works - The Moderna jab is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. Conventional vaccines are produced using weakened forms of the virus, but mRNAs use only the virus’s genetic code.

An mRNA vaccine is injected into the body, where it enters cells and tells them to create antigens. These antigens are recognised by the immune system and prepare it to fight coronavirus.

No actual virus is needed to create an mRNA vaccine. This means the rate at which the vaccine can be produced is accelerated.

Is it safe? - Yes.

Variants - 

In late January, the company behind the vaccine said it was effective against both the strain first detected in south east England and the mutation which first emerged in South Africa.

Moderna said laboratory tests found no significant impact on antibodies against the UK variant relative to prior variants.

While there was a six-fold reduction in neutralising antibodies produced against the South African variant, the levels remained above those that are expected to be protective, Moderna said.