British company announces starting to manufacture 2 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine

The British Swedish drug company AstraZeneca has announced the start of manufacturing its possible vaccine for the coronavirus, before completing its full validation tests.

Pascal Soriot, president of the company, said that vaccine trials are still ongoing, but they are obliged to take a financial risk by manufacturing the vaccine from now so that the demand can be met if it is proven to be effective.

"We have started manufacturing the vaccine right now and we have to be ready to use it while we get the results," he told BBC news.

The company says it will be able to supply 2 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine, and assures that it will not seek profit from the vaccine production during the epidemic.

Soriot said that his company will be able to produce two billion doses of the Corona vaccine after signing two new contracts on Thursday, one of them with billionaire Bill Gates.

AstraZeneca, which is developing its vaccine in cooperation with scientists at Oxford University, has agreed to supply half of the vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries.

One of the new partnerships includes a contract with the Serum India Institute (SII), the world's largest vaccine maker by volume.

The other contract is a $ 750 million deal with two health organizations supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.