Coronavirus: inside the ‘scrambled’ UK deal for five million Moderna vaccines
Fears over Trump’s ‘vaccine nationalism’ and European supplies led British ministers to prioritise other agreements
As news of another vaccine breakthrough emerged yesterday morning, ministers and civil servants rushed to finalise a deal to buy five million doses - at a cost of £95m.
Although the UK has secured 350 million doses of six Covid-19 jabs, most of which are still undergoing trials, “the Moderna vaccine is not one of those which the government has pre-ordered”, says The Spectator.
The reason, says The Times, is that “large-scale production of the Moderna vaccine is not expected in Europe until April”. As a result, “reaching agreement with other companies that can manufacture more rapidly was prioritised in the hope of starting mass immunisation before the year’s end”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A reluctance to deal with a US company amid “vaccine nationalism” and “concerns over unpredictable behaviour by the US president” also played a part, The Guardian reports. Ministers were reportedly concerned that Donald Trump might commandeer injections before they could be sent to the UK.
Finally, says Politico, the government “wanted to see the Phase 3 results before agreeing a deal”. When those results suggested that the vaccine was 95% effective, ministers and officials “hit Zoom and rushed through an agreement with Moderna”.
The last-minute response had led to “fears that Britain had missed out on supplies”, says The Guardian, especially as “the UK had also shunned the EU vaccine purchase scheme, arguing in July that the government could source vaccines faster on its own”.
That confidence appeared to be justified yesterday, when EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said she had “not yet concluded or signed a contract” with Moderna, although “negotiations with the company are ongoing”.
Aside from the Moderna jab, the UK has ordered 40 million doses of the 90% effective Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine - and 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, which is still in Phase 3 trials.
Ministers “remain hopeful” that the Oxford jab “could be available soon - even by Christmas - with results of that trial reported to be imminent”, says The Guardian.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Holden Frith is The Week’s digital director. He also makes regular appearances on “The Week Unwrapped”, speaking about subjects as diverse as vaccine development and bionic bomb-sniffing locusts. He joined The Week in 2013, spending five years editing the magazine’s website. Before that, he was deputy digital editor at The Sunday Times. He has also been TheTimes.co.uk’s technology editor and the launch editor of Wired magazine’s UK website. Holden has worked in journalism for nearly two decades, having started his professional career while completing an English literature degree at Cambridge University. He followed that with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. A keen photographer, he also writes travel features whenever he gets the chance.
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Less than total recall
Editor's Letter Why our brains want to forget the darkest days of the pandemic
By Theunis Bates Published
-
'A wonky bureaucratic tweak has dramatically changed how Americans drive'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
'Making Russia pay for its aggression with its own assets has undeniable moral and practical appeal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published