The Boris Johnson-led government has signed deals for an additional 90 million doses of the Covid -19 vaccine being developed by the Belgian pharmaceutical company Janssen and the US biotech company Novavax. The new order has amounted to a potential stockpile of 340 million doses. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, “The government's strategy to build a portfolio of promising vaccine candidates will ensure we have the best chance possible of finding that works.”
He added that the new deal will not only benefit people in the UK, “but will ensure fair and equitable access of a vaccine around the world, potentially protecting hundreds of millions of lives.”
The government now has experimental Covid-19 vaccine candidates developed using four different scientific approaches. This includes: Adenovirus vaccines: 100 million doses, Oxford University/AstraZeneca; 30 million doses, Janssen mRNA vaccines: 30 million doses, BioNTech/Pfizer; Inactivated whole virus vaccines: 60 million doses, Valneva; Protein adjuvant vaccines: 60 million doses, GSK/Sanofi; 60 million doses Novavax. The Oxford and BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines are in Phase III clinical trials.
