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(CNN) - The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement for 100 million doses of the research vaccine against covid-19 that Johnson & Johnson is developing.
In a statement, HHS said the doses from the "large-scale manufacturing and delivery" agreement could be used in clinical trials or as part of a covid-19 vaccination campaign under the guidance of the Food and Drug Administration. U.S.
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The Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is committing more than $ 1 billion to this agreement, Johnson & Johnson said in a separate statement. The United States government may also purchase an additional 200 million doses of the candidate vaccine under a subsequent agreement, the company added.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in the statement that the federal government is assembling a "vaccine portfolio" under Operation Warp Speed (which in Spanish means "Operation at the Speed of Light") and the latter association will increase the chances that the United States "will have at least one safe and effective vaccine by 2021."
"Today's investment represents the next step in supporting the Janssen vaccine candidate throughout the manufacturing process, with the potential to deliver hundreds of millions of safe and effective doses to the American people," said Azar. Janssen Pharmaceuticals is owned by Johnson & Johnson.
The global search for a vaccine against covid advances-19 4:48Manufacturing will take place while clinical trials are underway to accelerate traditional vaccine development timelines, according to the statement.
The doses would be available to the American people at no cost if used in a covid-19 vaccination campaign. However, health professionals may charge the cost of administering the vaccine even if the government purchases the doses, according to HHS.
Janssen has received nearly $ 456 million for clinical trials and other vaccine development activities from BARDA, according to HHS.
Coronavirus vaccine