Australia has secured a deal with the UK-based drug company AstraZeneca for access to a potential Covid-19 vaccine should trials prove successful.
AstraZeneca is currently developing a vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, and has already reached agreements with several governments -- including the US and UK -- to produce at least 2 billion doses, with the first deliveries starting as early as September.
Under the deal, Australians would receive the vaccine for free, an Australian government statement said on Tuesday.
“If this vaccine proves successful we will manufacture and supply vaccines straight away under our own steam and make it free for 25 million Australians,” wrote Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the statement.
“However there is no guarantee that this, or any other, vaccine will be successful, which is why we are continuing our discussions with many parties around the world while backing our own researchers at the same time to find a vaccine."
Speaking Wednesday, Morrison acknowledged that there were "big hurdles" in producing a successful vaccine but said the AstraZeneca-Oxford University project is "one of the best prospects in the world today."
There is no stated cost of the Australian government’s deal with AstraZeneca; however the Australian government has indicated that it will spend billions of dollars on its vaccine strategy.
The strategy includes the purchase of 100 million needles, syringes and other consumables from US company Becton Dickinson, with an order already placed worth 24.7 million Australian dollars ( $17.9 million).