Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine becomes the third shot approved for use in the UK

• The UK has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, which proved 94% effective in late-stage trials in November.
• The UK government has ordered 17 million doses of Moderna's shot, but it's unlikely to roll out before March, according to a statement.
• The UK's health and social care secretary Matt Hancock described the vaccine as "another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease."

The UK approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine Friday, making it the third coronavirus shot to be rolled out in the country.

The COVID-19 vaccine, which works in a similar way to the Pfizer shot, was given regulatory approval for supply by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), according to a statement by the UK government.

The upstart biotech said in November that its experimental coronavirus vaccine was 94% effective at preventing COVID-19 in its late-stage trial involving 30,000 people.

The UK government has ordered seven million doses of the vaccine with an extra 10 million expected to follow. But it's unlikely to roll out before March.

Moderna's vaccine has a shelf life of seven months when it's kept between -25ºC and -15ºC, having an advantage over the Pfizer shot which must be stored at ultra cold temperatures.

Read more:What's coming next for COVID-19 vaccines? Here's the latest on 11 leading programs.

In a statement seen by Insider, Professor Beate Kampmann, Professor of Paediatric Infection & Immunity, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "There are storage challenges but can all be overcome as we have already seen."

The approval comes two days after the European Commission authorized Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in Europe, after it was recommended by the EU's vaccine regulator. It's the second shot to be given the green light in Europe.

Almost 1.5 million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with either the Pfizer BioNTech and Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccines, which were approved last year.

While the UK has bought 17 million doses from Moderna, it has also ordered 100 million doses of AstraZeneca's, and 40 million from Pfizer.

The aim is to get 15 million people in the UK vaccinated by February with the help of the military, Boris Johnson said in a speech on Thursday.

The UK's health and social care secretary Matt Hancock tweeted Friday: "This is further great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease."

The vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said: "The NHS is pulling out all the stops to vaccinate those most at risk as quickly as possible, with over 1,000 vaccination sites live across the UK by the end of the week to provide easy access to everyone, regardless of where they live."

"The Moderna vaccine will be a vital boost to these efforts and will help us return to normal faster," Zahawi said.