Coronavirus vaccine: Government signs new deal with Sanofi and GSK for 60m doses of potential jab
UK has now agreed early access to four different candidate inoculations
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Some 60 million doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine could start to be made available in the first half of 2021 after the government struck a deal with the two pharmaceutical giants behind it.
The jab is being developed at pace by GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur with human trials set to begin in September.
If it is proven to work and to be safe, it will be rolled out to priority groups – including health and social care workers and those most at risk of coronavirus – in the early months of next year, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said.
It is the fourth different type of potential coronavirus vaccine the government has now signed up for.
Alok Sharma, the business secretary, said: “Our scientists and researchers are racing to find a safe and effective vaccine at a speed and scale never seen before.
“While this progress is truly remarkable, the fact remains that there are no guarantees.
“In the meantime, it is important that we secure early access to a diverse range of promising vaccine candidates, like GSK and Sanofi, to increase our chances of finding one that works so we can protect the public and save lives.”
No vaccine has yet been proven to offer immunity against the deadly virus, which has killed more than 650,000 people worldwide since emerging in China in December.
But governments across the planet are signing deals for millions of doses of candidate vaccines in the hope one of them proves effective.
The new UK agreement follows previous deals made with AstraZeneca to produce 100 million doses in partnership with the University of Oxford; with BioNTech/Pfizer for 30 million doses; and with Valneva for 60 million doses.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments