LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Britain had no choice but to agree to take responsibility if claims were made against vaccine manufacturers as part of supply contracts, officials said Monday, adding that an agreement for three of applicants received indicated that their full approach had been paid.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain is in a “race against time” to roll out COVID-19 vaccines while deaths hit high levels and hospitals run out of oxygen .
Last month, a report from the Office of National Audit found that Britain had offered indemnities to pharmaceutical companies as part of their agreements to get COVID-19 vaccine applicants, ahead of regulatory approval.
Officials involved in the purchases said it was a “red line” for manufacturers to be offered statutory protection or some form of liability cover if they introduced the vaccine into Britain.
“This was not an option,” Kate Bingham, who chaired the UK Vaccine Action Group when Britain won its first vaccine procurement contracts, told lawyers.
“We have been able to agree one level of confidentiality with the various vaccine providers, or we would not be vaccinating at all.”
Britain has agreed supply contracts for seven different types of vaccine candidate, totaling 367 million doses, for at least £ 3.7 billion ($ 4.93 billion).
Three vaccine candidates, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, Oxford and AstraZeneca University, and Moderna, have received regulatory approval for use in Britain. The Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford / AstraZeneca images are being distributed.
“If we didn’t make that investment, you wouldn’t have vaccines available at a regulatory license agreement,” said Nick Elliott, former Director General of the Vaccine Action Group.
“Looking at the business case of the total value for money of vaccines, when measured against the cost of the pandemic, only one of these vaccines will be successful in achieving a significant recovery for the pay taxes, the investment made at risk. ”(Reporting by Alistair Smout Edited by Mark Heinrich)