The US Purchases 66 Million Doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine for $1.74 Billion

Moderna announced that the United States government has agreed to purchase 66 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate, mRNA-1273.222, for $1.74 billion on July 29, 2022. The bivalent candidate contains the Spikvax vaccine as well as the omicron BA.4/5 strain mRNA.

According to a company press release, $1.74 billion will be awarded to Moderna following the manufacture and delivery of 66 million doses of the vaccine. The agreement includes an option for the US to purchase up to an additional 234 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine booster.

"We are pleased to extend our successful collaboration with the [US] government," said Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna, in the press release. "Moderna's mRNA platform is enabling us to rapidly create mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent vaccine that specifically targets [omicron] subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the most prevalent variants of concern in the [US] today. We remain fully committed to leveraging our innovative technology platform to offer tailored vaccines that help protect communities against COVID-19."

In addition to mRNA-1273.222, Moderna is also developing mRNA-1273.214. This contains the BA.1 omicron strain, which WHO noted may be of benefit to the public.

Source: Moderna