Not CARCLO but shows scale. $110 million order is a start7 Aug 2020 08:32
US Preps For ‘COVID-19 Mass Vaccination’ With $110 Million Spent On Needles And Syringes
Thomas Brewster
Thomas BrewsterForbes Staff
Cybersecurity
Associate editor at Forbes, covering cybercrime, privacy, security and surveillance.
America spends $100 million on coronavirus needles and syringes.
COVID-19 vaccines are in development, but to meet the demand of over 300 million doses, the ... [+] IGOR GOLOVNIOV/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. government is getting its vaccine supplies ready in anticipation of a working cure. Two separate orders signed off on May 1, 2020, total $100 million and specify needles and syringes “for a COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Campaign.”
One $27.5 million order went to Colorado-based Marathon Medical, the other $83.7 million to Texan business Retractable Technologies. The orders were placed by the Health and Human Services (HHS) department’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The orders come as a raft of different vaccines are under development and testing. The U.S. government has backed a handful, including a $450 million deal with Johnson & Johnson arm Janssen Pharmaceutical for its COVID-19 cure. That vaccine could be ready by early 2021.
Recommended For You
Forget Samsung—Huawei’s Serious New China Problem Suddenly Confirmed
Confirmed—Trump Attack On TikTok Is Just The Start
How To Stop Your Android Or iPhone Tracking You—New NSA Advice
Oxford University’s vaccine could be given to millions of people even earlier. AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, suggested toward the end of last week that the cure could be ready for a limited rollout before the close of 2020. That would be a remarkable turnaround, given that vaccine testing and release can take over a decade.
It’s unclear just how many needles and syringes have been ordered. It’s estimated as many as 300 million will need to be inoculated in the U.S., but a report in the New York Times last week cited industry sources expressing concern about America’s urgency to produce the myriad parts required to deliver the medicine.
PROMOTED
Japan BRANDVOICE | Paid Program
Japan Is Developing The Smart Platforms To Take The Complexity Out Of Logistics
Grads of Life BRANDVOICE | Paid Program
The Impact Of COVID-19 On Youth In Foster Care
Civic Nation BRANDVOICE | Paid Program
Show Up For Young Absentee Voters
HHS announced at the end of March it was working with Janssen and Massachusetts-based Moderna on fast-tracking vaccine production. HHS said it would “accelerate advanced clinical trials, regulatory support and large-scale manufacturing to produce up to 300 million doses of vaccine in the United States each year.”
Neither HHS nor the manufacturers had responded to requests for more details on how many needles and syringes were being produced.
But the latest orders should go some way to alleviating concerns about preparedness to deliver vaccines to Americans.
Ful
Sign In
Follow the stocks
