Newsdeck

COVID-19

EU seals second Covid-19 vaccine deal as WHO scheme deadline looms

EU seals second Covid-19 vaccine deal as WHO scheme deadline looms
epa08677956 The EU flag at the car in which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for talks with German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 September 2020. The meeting is taking place under Germany's six-month presidency of the European Union Council. EPA-EFE/Sean Gallup / POOL

BRUSSELS/PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The European Union has agreed to buy a potential COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK in its second such deal to secure supplies, as a deadline for joining the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine purchase programme looms.

 

The deal will see the French and British drugmakers, which have teamed up to manufacture a recombinant protein-based vaccine they hope to get approved next year, provide the EU with up to 300 million doses.

Friday’s agreement confirms an announcement made on July 31 by the two companies and follows an earlier deal between the EU and AstraZeneca for up to 400 million shots.

In return for the right to the doses, the European Commission will finance part of the upfront costs faced by vaccine producers. The vaccine doses themselves will be bought by EU countries.

The latest deal comes on deadline day for members of the WHO to join its COVAX scheme, which aims to buy COVID-19 vaccines and ensure immunisations are fairly and efficiently distributed.

So far, 92 lower-income nations are seeking assistance via COVAX, part of the WHO’s ACT Accelerator to boost development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to combat the pandemic.

Some 80 higher-income nations have expressed interest, but many have yet to join as they scramble to secure supplies separately.

France will provide funding for the initiative but will not source shots through it, a health ministry official said on Thursday, after Paris decided to be part of a joint scheme arranged through the EU.

There is currently no internationally-approved vaccine for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, which has claimed more than 946,000 lives and derailed the world economy.

For Sanofi and GSK, the deal follows a $2.1 billion agreement with the United States in July for 100 million doses, with an option for Washington to purchase an additional 500 million, as well as a UK deal for 60 million doses.

Sanofi and GSK started clinical trials of their vaccine this month and aim to reach the final testing stage by December.

The vaccine candidate uses the same recombinant protein-based technology as one of Sanofi’s seasonal influenza vaccines. It will be coupled with an adjuvant, a substance that acts as a booster to the vaccine, made by GSK.

The two companies are scaling up manufacturing to be ready to produce up to one billion doses per year.

Sanofi is also working on another potential COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. company Translate Bio, using a technology called mRNA. FACTBOX- The race for a coronavirus vaccine FACTBOX-U.S., UK spend billions to take lead in securing coronavirus vaccines

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.