US signs deal to buy 200 million doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine

In order to make sure the residents of the United States are safely vaccinated against the variants of the deadly coronavirus, the authorities have sealed a deal of buying 200 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.

"We appreciate the collaboration with the US government for these additional doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which could be used for primary vaccination, including of children, or possibly as a booster if that becomes necessary to continue to defeat the pandemic," said the company's CEO Stephane Bancel.

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The deal is particularly important as it gives the country the option to buy variant-specific boosters that are in the pipeline. "We remain focused on being proactive as the virus evolves by leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform to stay ahead of emerging variants," Bancel added.

This comes at a time when the country has started reporting the lowest new infections but on the same day when the US crossed 600,000 Covid deaths.

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While this has come as a piece of good news, experts are worried about the declining rate of vaccinations in the country, which were at a high point in April but have only declined since then.

The US has managed to vaccinate 65 per cent of its adults with at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccines.