Britain has agreed in principle to buy 90 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines under development by major pharmaceutical firms based in France, Germany and the United States.
The government said it ordered 60 million doses of a vaccine from French-based Valneva and 30 million of the BNT162 vaccine from a joint programme by German's BioNTech and US-based Pfizer.
The deal with Valneva includes an option to buy 40 million extra doses "if the vaccine is proven to be safe, effective and suitable," the government said.
Britain has already reserved 100 million doses of an Oxford University vaccine under development by AstraZeneca, among dozens of vaccine candidates worldwide.
Valneva said it plans to produce the vaccine at a plant in Scotland and expects the British government to contribute to the cost of clinical studies.
-London (dpa)
