As the pharmaceutical companies are getting close to releasing a viable #COVID-19 vaccine, countries worldwide are starting to secure millions of doses. The latest country to be part of this movement is Australia.
Australia announced that it would receive 3.8 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca during the first two months of 2021. Currently, the vaccine is in Phase III of clinical trials in the US, Brazil, South Africa, and the UK. It hasn't revealed significant concerns, but it generated strong immune responses. Under the contract, the Australian government could purchase up to 30 million additional doses.
But the government’s mission doesn’t stop here. It will also purchase doses of the #vaccine developed by the University of Queensland (UQ). Unlike the ones from AstraZeneca, the UQ ones will be available mid-2021. The UQ is undergoing pre-clinical testing on 120 adults, following promising results on animal trials. From the University, the government will buy 51 million doses.
According to people familiar with the matter, vulnerable people and healthcare workers will be the first in line to receive the vaccine. However, things are still a topic of discussion among health officials.
Under the agreements, as mentioned before, the government has the possibility of purchasing additional doses. Also, it can donate or sell the remaining vaccines to other countries or international organizations. From nearly 85 million doses, if both vaccines are proven effective, Australia will have around 30 million doses to spare.
As far as both vaccines are concerned, they could require two doses per patient – an initial dose and a booster. The overall deal for both vaccines is of 1.24 billion.
Following today’s announcement, AstraZeneca stock price is trading 3.50% higher. Australia200 ended the session at +0.33%.
Read more about other pharma companies and their vaccines here!
Sources: investing.com, theguardian.com, yahoo.com