SYDNEY, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Australia will receive the first
doses of an AstraZeneca and Oxford University COVID-19
vaccine in January 2021 if trials prove successful, after
Canberra agreed a deal to purchase a second potential vaccine,
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Monday.
Australia said in August it had signed a preliminary
agreement with AstraZeneca for enough doses for its population
of nearly 26 million, which would be manufactured locally by
pharmaceutical company CSL.
That deal appeared in some doubt when CSL said its priority
was manufacturing an alternative potential vaccine developed
with the University of Queensland (UQ).
Agreeing a deal to overcome the potential roadblock,
Australia will now also buy 51 million doses of the UQ vaccine.
It will take possession of the first 3.8 million doses of
the AstraZeneca vaccine in January and February 2021, and then
receive a further 30 million doses, Morrison will say in
extracts from an announcement sent to Reuters.
AstraZenecas candidate is seen as a frontrunner in a global
race to deliver an effective coronavirus vaccine.
“Australians will be among the first in the world to receive
a safe and effective vaccine, should it pass late stage
testing,” Morrison will say.
Under the deal with UQ and CSL, Australia will buy 51
million doses of that tie-up’s vaccine. The UQ and CSL candidate
is scheduled to begin phase two trials in late 2020 and if all
trials are successful it could be rolled out to Australians in
mid-2021.
Both deals will cost in total A$1.7 billion ($1.24 billion),
Morrison will say. Should both vaccines prove successful,
Australia has secured to right to donate or sell on without a
mark-up.
Health officials are discussing who will receive the first
doses if trials are successful, Morrison will say. Vulnerable
people, and front-line health care workers likely to be first in
line, a source familiar with the details told Reuters.
The supply agreements come as Australia grapples with a
second wave of infections in its second most populous state,
Victoria. Australia has recorded more than 26,000 infections and
753 deaths.
($1 = 1.3738 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Colin Packham
Editing by Frances Kerry)
