FILE PHOTO: An indication marks the headquarters of Moderna Therapeutics, which is creating a vaccine in opposition to the coronavirus illness (COVID-19), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., Might 18, 2020. REUTERS/Brian SnyderReuters
DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar has signed an settlement with drugmaker Moderna Inc
to purchase its potential COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as it’s permitted and launched for world use, state information company QNA quoted a well being official as saying on Sunday.
There aren’t any internationally permitted vaccines but, however a number of are in superior trials, together with from Pfizer Inc
and Moderna.
“Negotiating early and securing quite a lot of agreements enhances our possibilities of getting ample portions of the vaccine early,” mentioned Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of a nationwide COVID-19 well being group and head of infectious illnesses at Hamad Medical Company.
He didn’t say what number of doses Doha was requesting. Earlier this month, al-Khal mentioned Qatar signed an settlement with Pfizer and BioNTech to provide Qatar with their vaccines.
Moderna mentioned final month it was on observe to supply 20 million doses of its vaccine by the tip of the yr, whereas sustaining its aim of readying 500 million to 1 billion doses in 2021.
The American group can also be working with Swiss group Lonza AG to scale up the manufacturing and manufacturing of its potential COVID-19 vaccine to provide markets outdoors america.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Modifying by Andrew Heavens)
Copyright 2020 Thomson Reuters.
