Valneva’s Covid Vaccine Gets U.K. Clearance After Rocky Ride (1)

Valneva SE’s Covid-19 vaccine won approval from the U.K. drugs regulator, the shot’s first regulatory clearance. The stock soared.

The decision caps “a rigorous review” of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said in a statement Thursday.

It’s unclear what plans the U.K., which has approved another five coronavirus immunizations, has for the shot. The product suffered a blow when a study testing seven different vaccines as boosters found Valneva’s was one of those that raised antibody levels the least. The research was conducted before omicron became ...