Moscow: The British government has secured another 2 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine and expects that around 3.5 million people will be able to get vaccinated, the government said in a statement on Sunday.
“The UK was one of the first countries in Europe to sign a deal with Moderna, and I'm delighted we have been able to secure a further 2 million doses of their promising candidate for the British public,” Business Secretary Alok Sharma said as quoted in the government release.
According to the statement, the new deal, signed on Sunday, brings the total number of Moderna vaccine doses secured for the UK to 7 million.
“Following today's deal, the UK now has access to enough doses of Moderna's vaccine candidate for around 3.5 million people,” the British government said on Sunday.
According to the government release, the Moderna vaccine still needs to get approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
“If it is approved, 7 million doses could start to be delivered to the UK as early as spring 2021 - the same timetable as other countries in Europe,” the British government said.
In total, the UK has secured 357 million vaccine doses from 7 different developers. The Moderna vaccine appears to be nearly 95% effective. It is currently in phase 3 clinical trials. There were 95 cases of infection among patients in the company’s 30,000-patient study. Only five of them occurred in patients who developed Covid-19 after receiving Moderna’s vaccine, mRNA-1273.
