The UK government is in “advanced discussions” with Moderna to ensure access to its vaccine by spring next year – with results showing the jab is 94.5% effective.

The vaccine, which Moderna produced in collaboration with the US government’s “Operation Warp Speed”, has also been shown to last for up to 30 days in household fridges and at room temperature for up to 12 hours.

It also remains stable at -20C, equal to most household or medical freezers, for up to six months.

This suggests it can be stored and transported much more easily than a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was last week announced to be 90% effective at protecting people from coronavirus.

Following last week’s news, governments around the world – including the UK – had been scrambling to deal with the logistical challenge of deploying the Pfizer vaccine, which is required to be stored at the much lower temperature of -70C.

SKYNEWS