Potential COVID 19 Vaccine – available in September?

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2 billion doses of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine will be developed by AstraZeneca after a $750 million deal with charities backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Gates Foundation has invested 750 million US dollars in order to increase the dose units of an untested corona vaccine.

The vaccine AZD1222, which is currently being developed at Oxford University, is to be produced soon. However, it has not yet been clinically tested. Nevertheless, the dose to be produced has already been doubled from 1 billion to 2 billion. This is the result of a 750 million US dollar investment by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The vaccine is produced by the British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca. The company recently announced that it had signed an agreement with the Coalition for Innovation in Epidemic Prevention, and the Swiss vaccine alliance Gavi. The agreement states that the production of dose units will be increased to 2 billion, according to Science Alert. Both foundations are supported by the WHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

AstraZeneca has announced via BBC that it will start production immediately and this should available in September?

According to CEPI chief Richard Hatchett, the investment in manufacturing a product that may be inefficient was very risky. And it was also unusual because the drug had not yet been tested as effective. In any case, 400 million doses should be available by the end of 2020. If the clinical tests prove that the vaccine is effective, it could be available as early as September.

AstraZeneca has already agreed to supply 300 million doses of the potential vaccine to the US and a further 100 million to the UK, with the first deliveries expected in September.

Governments around the world have pledged billions of dollars for a Covid-19 vaccine and a number of pharmaceutical firms are in a race to develop and test potential drugs.

“A vaccine must be seen as a global public good – a people’s vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for,” United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a video message on Thursday.