London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

UK vaccine strategy 'paying off' as latest trials boost stockpiles

UK vaccine strategy 'paying off' as latest trials boost stockpiles

Pre-ordering of Janssen and Novavax means Britain has procured 247m successfully trialled jabs

Britain has cemented its status as one of the world’s leading buyers of effective Covid vaccines after two more pharmaceutical companies reported positive trial results – potentially growing the UK stockpile by 90m doses.

The US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its vaccine – which requires only one dose – is effective. This followed Thursday’s news that the Novavax vaccine, which will be manufactured in the UK, performed well in phase 3 trials.

The UK’s vaccines taskforce has pre-ordered 30m doses of the Janssen vaccine, produced by Johnson and Johnson via its Belgian subsidiary, and 60m Novavax doses, which will be administered as two doses per person if it gets regulatory approval. Both can be stored at fridge temperatures.

In total, the UK has procured 247m vaccine doses from companies with positive phase 3 results: roughly 3.7 jabs per person, Guardian analysis has found. Canada, Chile, Australia and New Zealand are the only countries with a higher rate per head, according to data from Duke Global Health Innovation Center including contracts signed up to 25 January.

While both the US and the EU have procured more than 1bn effective doses each, these numbers equate to lower rates of 3.4 and 2.4 per person. The UK has placed orders for a further 120m vaccines from Sanofi-GSK and Valneva, but these still await positive trial results.

Johnson & Johnson said its vaccine had 72% efficacy in preventing Covid in US trials, but a lower rate of 66% was observed globally in a large trial conducted across three continents and against multiple variants.

It gave people 85% protection against severe illness, even in South Africa, which is struggling with a problematic variant of the virus. The vaccine gave 100% protection against hospitalisation and death, as do the other vaccines now approved.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the news meant the UK was in “pole position” in the race to protect its population against the virus. “Our approach of buying abroad and making here at home is paying off,” he said.

With case rates and hospitalisations still at high levels, ministers are keenly awaiting data on the impact of the vaccine rollout on the spread of the virus, which should begin to emerge in the next fortnight.

Boris Johnson has signalled he will wait until the week of 22 February, when more evidence will be available, before making firm decisions about lifting schools closure or other lockdown measures. The latest NHS figures, published on Friday, showed that 6.8 million people have now received their first dose of Covid vaccine in the UK.

Some health experts are calling on the UK government to consider sharing its vaccine supplies with other countries, including the EU, given the shared imperative of tackling the virus worldwide.


Boris Johnson, seen here at a lab in Scotland that will manufacture a Covid vaccine, will wait until 22 February before considering lifting lockdown measures.


Dr Alberto Giubilini, from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, said: “I think that the more vaccine doses we have in the UK, the stronger the reason to give some to the EU. It is not just about being generous, it is to make sure that the problem is addressed at the collective level, which is the only level at which it can be addressed if we want long term positive outcomes.”

A government source insisted it was too soon to contemplate whether the UK might have surplus doses, however – pointing out that the two newest vaccines must still await the approval of the regulator. “There is no expectation that we will have excess levels of supply, because of the time lag,” they said.

Vaccine availability remains the constraint on the speed of the immunisation programme, with some regions reporting inconsistent supplies. Hancock has also made clear he believes the public may need to be re-vaccinated in a year’s time, or perhaps sooner, as more evidence emerges about how long protection lasts.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×