UK buys millions of Moderna vaccines

The British government has placed an order to supply five million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, Health Minister Matt Hancock announced on Monday (November 16). They are to be delivered no later than next spring.

Earlier on Monday, the American company announced that preliminary results of clinical trials of its vaccine showed an effectiveness of 94.5 percent. and no significant side effects were found.

– Today’s information is great news and an encouraging step forward in our fight against COVID-19. We acted quickly to provide us with 5 million doses of this highly promising vaccine, which means we are even better equipped to vaccinate anyone who wants to benefit from it if strict safety standards are met, Hancock said.

– But we’re not at this stage yet. Until science keeps us safe, we must remain vigilant and follow the rules that we know can keep this virus under control, he reminded.

Moderna is the second Western company to announce that preliminary results from Phase 3 clinical trials support the effectiveness of the vaccine. A week ago, the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that the project of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccine, developed in cooperation with the German biotechnology company BioNTech, has over 90 percent. effectiveness.

The vaccine developed by Moderna has the advantage of being much easier to store and transport. Tests have shown that it is effective for 30 days if stored in a refrigerator and up to 12 hours if left at room temperature, while in a freezer at minus 20 degrees Celsius it can be stored for up to six months. The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine requires a temperature of minus 70 degrees.

The contract with Moderna is the seventh contract concluded by the British government with producers of potential vaccines. In total, Great Britain has already secured the supply of 355 million vaccines, which means one of the largest inventories in the world. Among them, there are also 30 million of that developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

In July, the United Kingdom said it would not join the EU’s program of jointly purchasing a vaccine against the coronavirus. She argued that it would not have an impact on decisions made about producers with whom negotiations will be conducted, prices, quantities and delivery dates, and by conducting its own negotiations with producers it has a chance to conclude contracts faster.

From London Bartłomiej Niedziński (PAP)

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