European nations sign a deal with AstraZeneca for 400 million vaccine doses

AstraZeneca Plc said on Saturday it signed a contract with European governments to supply the region with its potential vaccine against the coronavirus, the British drugmaker’s latest deal to pledge its drug to help combat the pandemic.

The contract is for up to 400 million doses of the vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, the company said, adding that it was looking to expand manufacturing of the vaccine, which it said it would provide for no profit during the pandemic.

Deliveries will start by the end of 2020.

The deal is the first contract signed by Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands to secure vaccine doses for all member states as soon as possible.

As many U.S. states continue to lift coronavirus lockdown restrictions, some are pausing their reopenings in the face of worrisome data around new cases and hospitalizations. States like Texas, Arizona and Arkansas have seen a surge in infections, calling into question aggressive reopening strategies. 

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday additional lockdowns may be needed if rising infection data doesn’t improve, and some researchers are warning the resurgences in some states isn’t even the “second wave” that many feared — it’s still just the first. 

• Global cases: More than 7.7 million
• Global deaths: At least 427,400
• U.S. cases: More than 2.05 million
• U.S. deaths: At least 114,875

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

One of the hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus, Spain is still not open to tourists and arrivals in the country are required to self-quarantine for 14 days. Spain’s government has previously said that from July 1, tourists would be able to enter the country without having to quarantine. 

Sources: NBC News / firstpost.com/

Comments

comments