Now that scientists across the globe are getting closer to developing a coronavirus vaccine, countries all over the world have already started to place orders for it. Taking cognizance of its coronavirus situation, the U.S. government struck a deal with Johnson & Johnson to supply 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses to Americans. Furthermore, J&J will also supply another batch of 200 million doses to the U.S. in case of any future requirements. The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine candidate is still seeking emergency approval.
The deal was struck upon by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, on behalf of the U.S. government. $1 billion has been offered to Johnson & Johnson as a part of the agreement by the Department of Health and Human Services along with the U.S. Department of Defence. Before this deal, the U.S. government had also offered $456 million dollars to Johnson & Johnson for the development of its coronavirus vaccine.
The Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Paul Stoffels, says, “We greatly appreciate the U.S. government’s confidence in, and support for, our R&D platform and efforts and scalability of our vaccine technology.” Moreover, the pharmaceutical giant also claims that its coronavirus vaccine will be sold at a non-profitable price across the globe. However, your healthcare provider may charge you some bucks to administer it. Johnson & Johnson aims to distribute its coronavirus vaccine globally by the end of 2021.
The company has already begun the human trials for its vaccine in the U.S. and Belgium. However, the vaccine has not yet been approved for worldwide use. As of today, the company is testing volunteers for both, one and two doses. You’ll be surprised to know that Johnson & Johnson isn’t the only pharmaceutical company trying to launch its coronavirus vaccine in the market this year. Other companies such as Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca are all aiming to get approval for their vaccine by this fall.