U.S. orders 300 million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine

[May 21, 2020]    (Reuters) - The U.S. government has ordered 300 million doses of a potential COVID-19 virus being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and hopes first doses can be made available by October, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday.

Small bottles labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

"This contract with AstraZeneca is a major milestone in Operation Warp Speed’s work toward a safe, effective, widely available vaccine by 2021," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.