• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

UK Strikes Deals for 90 Million Doses of Potential Coronavirus Vaccine

Jonah Fox by Jonah Fox
07/20/20
in World
A lab technician extracts portions of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center in Bangkok, Thailand on May 25, 2020.

A lab technician extracts portions of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center in Bangkok, Thailand on May 25, 2020. Photo: Sakchai Lalit/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The United Kingdom secured 90 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccines after making deals with biotech firms BioNTech, Pfizer, and Valneva, the government said Monday.

Thirty million doses come from German firms BioNTech and Pfizer, while 60 million come from French firm Valneva.

The doses will join British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, which has already agreed to produce 100 million doses for the UK at no profit.

The British government is now overseeing the progress of three different types of potential vaccines. It has poured millions of pounds into Imperial College London and Oxford University, where research has been centered.

Meanwhile, the government has launched a website for volunteers to sign up for vaccine trials, according to Business Secretary Alok Sharma. It hopes to have 500,000 participants by October.

“Now that there are several promising vaccines on the horizon, we need to call again on the generosity of the public to help find out which potential vaccines are the most effective,” said Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer and head of the National Institute for Health Research.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, however, expressed doubt that a vaccine will be ready soon.

“To say that I’m 100 percent confident that we will get a vaccine this year or indeed next year is, alas, just an exaggeration,” he said in a televised interview.

Britain’s latest deals come less than a week after Russia reported a successful clinical trial, and mark a new addition to the global endeavor for a COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID Fatigue in Britain

The British people, however, are tired of waiting inside.

Throughout the pandemic, the UK has been one of the world’s worst-hit countries. After Belgium and the tiny country of San Marino, it has the highest number of deaths per capita.

As of July 20, the United Kingdom has suffered over 45,000 deaths, the highest in Europe. It has almost hit 300,000 confirmed cases.

Amid controversy, however, the country began relaxing its restrictions on July 4. Pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen, and the two-meter social distancing rule was slashed to one meter.

The public, however, was already weary of such precautions. Thousands took to the beaches in June as the summer heat reached its then-peak.

British public at Boscombe beach in Bournemouth, southern England on June 25, 2020.
British beachgoers defy social distancing guidelines in Bournemouth, southern England on June 25, 2020. Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP

When restrictions were formally lifted, such behavior hardly shifted. London’s first night out in months led to crowded pubs and packed streets, despite the recommendations of authorities.

While masks remain required in stores, Britons appear reluctant to follow public health advice when unsupervised.

Still, Britain’s four countries are adopting different approaches to reducing the spread of coronavirus. As pubs and restaurants fill up in England, for example, the Scottish government still restricts their services to outdoor spaces.

ShareTweet
Jonah Fox

Jonah Fox

Follow him @Jonah435

Related Posts

A woman undergoing COVID test in China
Featured

Soaring Covid Cases Shine Light on China’s Healthcare Gap

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2023
European Medicines Agency
World

EU Watchdog Approves Second Covid Booster for Over 80s

by Staff Writer
April 6, 2022
A supermarket in Glendale, California
Opinion

Why Some Inflated Prices Won’t Come Down: Ramen and Eggs Tell the Tale

by Justin Fendos
March 9, 2022
WHO
World

WHO Urges Rich Countries to Pay Up for Covid Plan

by Staff Writer
February 9, 2022
Mask making
National

US Sets Global Record of Over 1 Mn Daily Covid-19 Cases

by Staff Writer
January 4, 2022
Israel Covid vaccine
World

Israel ‘Leads the Way’ With 4th Covid Jabs for Vulnerable

by Staff Writer
December 31, 2021
Next Post
Federal officers use tear gas and other crowd dispersal munitions on protesters outside the Multnomah County Justice Center on July 17, 2020 in Portland, Oregon

Border Patrol to the Rescue: Trump and Portland’s Protesters

A woman holds a sign during a rally to mark Juneteenth on June 19, 2020, in San Francisco

US Black Kids Die at Higher Rates Than White Ones After Surgery: Study

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post