Britain strikes deal to buy 90million Covid vaccine shots

BRITAIN is at the front of the queue for six coronavirus vaccines after striking a new deal to buy 90million doses.

The Government has made an agreement with US biotech firm Novavax – which plans to manufacture its vaccine in Durham – to provide the UK with 60million doses.

And 30million doses of another vaccine have been secured from Belgian pharmaceutical company Janssen.

If the vaccines work, GPs could be administering jabs by the middle of next year – initially to priority groups such as the elderly, ethnic minority communities and frontline health workers.

It means the UK is set to get early access to six vaccines, which work in four different ways. Officials are hedging their bets because nobody knows which, if any, will ultimately be successful. It may even be necessary to give people more than one vaccine to get a strong immune response.

And it may be the case that if a vaccine cannot stop coronavirus from spreading, it could reduce the severity of a patient’s symptoms to prevent deaths.

The Government has agreed to support a large-scale trial for the Novavax vaccine and co-fund a global clinical trial of the Janssen candidate next year.

Kate Bingham, chairman of the Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘The issue is we don’t know which, if any, of these vaccines may work because there have been no vaccines against any human coronavirus.’

She added: ‘It would be a nice position if they all work but that’s not likely. The reality is that most will fail and we want to be sure that if any one is shown to be effective and safe, we have rights to it.’

The vaccine by Janssen – which is owned by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson – is being made on a not-for-profit basis.

It’s expected to begin the next phase of clinical trials later this year.

Novavax plans to make some of its vaccine at a manufacturing facility in Stockton- on-Tees, Durham.

The Government will support the vaccine’s phase III trial – which tests for its safety and effectiveness on thousands of volunteers.

The new deal comes in the same week that Russia became the first country to approve a vaccine, after less than two months of clinical trials. The jab, expected to be nationally available from October, has already been

‘The investment is courageous’

used on one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s daughters, despite concerns it has not yet been fully tested.

In total, the UK now has agreements in place for 340million vaccine doses.

That includes 100million doses of the vaccine developed at Oxford University, plus 90million doses of two vaccines made by French firm Valneva and German biotech company BioNTech which is working with US firm Pfizer.

A deal has also been struck for 60million doses of GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur’s potential Covid-19 jab.

Alex Harris, the Wellcome Trust’s head of global policy, said it is ‘urgent’ that the Government explains how it will ensure fair access to vaccines for other countries.

He said: ‘The Government must take the global lead to ensure any advances to test, treat and prevent Covid-19 are available for all nations, rich and poor, alike.

‘It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s in our best interest.

‘Unless every country has access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, the whole world is at risk.’

The Government last month launched a registry to encourage people to sign up for information about taking part in vaccine trials. It aims to recruit half a million people by the end of October.

Stephen Evans, a professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘The investment in agreeing to pay for vaccines which are not yet proven to be effective and not cause serious harm is courageous.

‘It is a better investment than some that have been made for ineffective PPE.’

But he added: ‘What would be very sad is that all this effort may be undermined if substantial numbers of people do not accept being vaccinated.’