August 12, 2020 -- The U.S. government awarded a maximum $1.525 billion contract to Moderna to secure 100 million doses of its messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine.
The government signed the deal for Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine through its Operation Warp Speed project. The deal includes an option to buy an additional 400 million doses of the vaccine in the future. Americans will receive the vaccine at no cost for the vaccine itself.
This new contract covers the manufacturing and delivery of 100 million doses, including incentive payments for their timely delivery. These funds, along with the previous award of up to $955 million from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the development of the vaccine, totals up to $2.48 billion.
In July, Moderna announced that its vaccine was safe and triggered immune responses in healthy adults.