Trump administration makes deal with Moderna to produce 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine

The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense on Tuesday announced an agreement with American pharmaceutical company Moderna to produce 100 million doses of the company's coronavirus vaccine.

Moderna will produce the doses while clinical trials are still underway, which will allow the company to expedite the development and delivery timeline of the doses.The vaccine doses will be owned by the federal government as a part of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, which is aiming to deliver a vaccine to the American people by the end of the year.

"Today's investment represents the next step in supporting this vaccine candidate all the way from early development by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health, through clinical trials, and now large-scale manufacturing, with the potential to bring hundreds of millions of safe and effective doses to the American people," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. 

The government is investing approximately $1.5 billion on the manufacturing and delivering of the 100 million Moderna vaccine doses, with an option to acquire up to an additional 400 million. The deal ensures that, subject to successful clinical trials and approval by the FDA, the drug is packaged and ready to ship as soon as possible. 

The U.S. coronavirus vaccine campaign will allow Americans to receive the dose at no cost, though healthcare professionals could charge a fee for the cost of administering the vaccine. 

Phase 3 clinical trials for the Moderna vaccine, which is called mRNA-1373, began on July 27. It is the first government-sponsored Phase 3 clinical trial for a U.S. coronavirus vaccine.