The UK has agreed a contract for 35 million more doses of
the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, to be delivered from the
second half of next year.
The government, through the Vaccine Taskforce, is putting
in place preparations to future-proof the country from the
threat of COVID-19 and its variants through safe and
effective vaccines, as the UK’s world-renowned vaccination
programme continues to protect the population.
These include robust plans for ensuring the country remains
ahead of the virus for years to come and for any future
booster programmes, as well as working to make the UK a
global centre of excellence for the next generation of
vaccines.
The Vaccine Taskforce has contracts in place with multiple
vaccine manufacturers.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
The UK’s phenomenal vaccination programme is providing
tens of millions of people with protection from COVID-19,
saving 95,200 lives and preventing 82,100
hospitalisations in the over 65s in England alone.
While we continue to build this wall of defence from
COVID-19, it’s also vital we do everything we can to
protect the country for the future too – whether that’s
from the virus as we know it or new variants.
I am pleased we’ve reached this agreement with Pfizer for
more doses as part of our robust preparations to
future-proof our vaccine programme, ensuring we have
plans in place to keep the nation safe for years to come.
The UK is committed to supporting global recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic and improving access to vaccines, and
will be donating 100 million vaccine doses within the next
year. The donation of the first 9 million doses was
announced last month.
The UK is also one of the largest donors to the COVAX
facility, the global mechanism to help developing countries
access a coronavirus vaccine, and has committed £548
million in UK aid to help distribute 1.3 billion doses to
92 developing countries this year.
The government is preparing for a booster programme this
year to ensure those most vulnerable to COVID-19 are
protected. The booster programme will be based on the final
advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and
Immunisation (JCVI), expected in September.
COVID-19 vaccines have saved 95,200 lives. They have also
prevented 82,100 hospitalisations and 23.9 million
infections in England alone, according to the latest data
from Public Health England and Cambridge University.
The contract will be published on Contracts Finder in due
course.