CAMPAIGNERS raised concerns over pharmaceutical monopolies today as a “next generation” coronavirus booster jab needed only once a year was approved for use in adults in Britain.

The UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised the new Covid-19 injection from US pharmaceutical giant Moderna.

It is an updated version of the Moderna jab that has already been in use with some people who got their first, second or booster injections.

The jab, known as mRNA-1273.214, would be administered to those who decide they want to use it instead of relying on natural immunity. According to Moderna, the jab targets two strains of the coronavirus, the original strain and omicron.

There has been controversy and debate about how effective Moderna and other injections are at protecting people from Covid-19, particularly as the antibodies they create have been shown to decay rapidly, creating the need for booster doses.

In May, Moderna chief Stephane Bancel admitted his firm was “in the process of throwing 30 million doses in the garbage because nobody wants them.”

The statement came despite poorer countries still struggling to access vaccinations for vulnerable people.

Global Justice Now campaigns & policy officer Alena Ivanova raised concern that pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna have too much of a monopoly on the knowledge that has gone into development of the vaccines.

She said that now that the initial phase of the pandemic response has come to an end, the campaign group is concerned the firms will raise the prices of their vaccines and make even more profits.

A recent paper in the Lancet medical journal suggested that coronavirus vaccines have prevented up to 20 million deaths in their first year of use.