Coronavirus: US secures 300 million doses of Oxford vaccine with US$1.2 billion pledge
- Amount represents almost a third of first batch planned by British drug maker AstraZeneca, as world powers scramble for therapeutics
- Chief of French firm Sanofi drew flak earlier this month for saying company’s vaccine could go to US patients first
The United States has secured almost a third of the first one billion doses planned for AstraZeneca’s experimental Covid-19 vaccine by pledging up to US$1.2 billion, as world powers scramble for medicines to get their economies back to work.
While not proven to be effective against the coronavirus, vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their stalled economies, and even to get an edge over global competitors.
After President Donald Trump demanded a vaccine, the US Department of Health and Human Services agreed to provide up to US$1.2 billion to accelerate British drug maker AstraZeneca’s vaccine development and secure 300 million doses for the United States.
“This contract with AstraZeneca is a major milestone in Operation Warp Speed’s work toward a safe, effective, widely available vaccine by 2021,” US Health Secretary Alex Azar said.
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The vaccine, previously known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and now as AZD1222, was developed by the University of Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca. Immunity to the new coronavirus is uncertain and so the use of vaccines unclear.