US Pays Johnson & Johnson $1Bln To Make 100Mln Does Of COVID-19 Vaccine - Health Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2020) Janssen, a subsidiary of the US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson, will receive $1 billion from Operation Warp Speed to produce 100 million doses of the company's novel coronavirus vaccine candidate, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a press release on Wednesday.

"This manufacturing demonstration project will take place while clinical trials are underway," the release said. "This step builds toward the US government's Operation Warp Speed goal to begin delivering millions of doses of safe and effective vaccines to the American people by the end of the year.

"

The US government is paying companies billions of Dollars for millions of for doses of experimental vaccines even before the vaccines are shown to work, stockpiling supplies for mass distribution in hopes that at least one of the candidates proves safe and effective.

The government will own the doses produces by Janssen and other companies receiving Operation Warp Speed funding, according to the HHS.