Magnificent eight – vaccines that could give us a shot at freedom

TO help hit the July target, ministers have ordered 457 million doses of eight promising vaccines. Three of them – Oxford-AstraZeneca; PfizerBioNTech and Moderna – have been rolled out after being approved by the medical regulator. The rest are awaiting approval or in clinical trials.

APPROVED: Oxford-AstraZeneca

-100 million doses ordered, enough for 50 million people. -20 million delivered so far. But under30s will no longer be offered it. -Supplies to reduce in April due because of a delay in delivery of doses from India.

Pfizer-BioNTech

-40 million doses ordered, enough for 20 million people. - 17 million doses delivered so far. -Pfizer is on track to meet its delivery schedule, thought to be around eight million doses in the next two months. -However jabs are now being prioritised for second doses. The EU has also threatened to impose export controls on jabs produced at Pfizer’s plant in Belgium, potentially disrupting supply.

Moderna

-17 million doses ordered, enough for 8.5 million people. It is the third jab to be approved in the UK, and the rollout began yesterday. -So far 5,000 doses have been delivered in Wales, and it will be rolled out in England from April 19. -About 100,000 Moderna jabs will be offered every week this month, increasing to 150,000 a week in May.

AWAITING APPROVAL: Janssen

-30 million doses ordered. -This is likely to be the next in line for approval in the UK. It is the only singledose vaccine that is available, and has already been approved in Europe and by the World Health Organisation. Clinical trials show the one-shot jab is highly effective. Doses of vaccine, developed by a Belgian subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson called Janssen, should be delivered to the UK in the second half of the year.

Novovax

-60 million ordered, enough for 30 million people. -Ministers are hopeful this jab will also gain approval by the summer. The US firm Novovax is manufacturing its vaccine in Stockton-on-Tees. A clinical trial in the UK found it to be 89 per cent effective at preventing patients falling ill with Covid, which officials said was ‘phenomenal’.

Valneva

-100 million ordered, enough for 50 million people. -French company Valneva is manufacturing its vaccine in Livingston, Scotland. Clinical trials are ongoing and it will not be approved before the end of the year but could be used as a booster jab.

GlaxoSmithKline-Sanofi

-60 million doses ordered, enough for 30 million people. This vaccine is still in development and several months off approval. The EU had pinned its hopes on the vaccine, being produced by French company Sanofi, signing a deal for 300 million doses.

CureVac

-50 million doses ordered. The Government has a deal with biopharmaceutical company CureVac to develop vaccines against future variants if they are required. It has placed an initial order for 50 million doses to be delivered later this year.