US Government Purchases 66 Million Doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 Booster Candidate

The US government has agreed to purchase 66 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate, mRNA-1273.222, for $1.74 billion. The bivalent candidate contains the Spikevax vaccine, as well as the Omicron BA.4/5 strain mRNA. The deal features 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," says Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO. "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, the company is also developing mRNA-1273.214. This contains the BA.1 Omicron strain, which may be of benefit to the public, according to WHO.