Australian PM announces deal for 84m doses of virus vaccine

CANBERRA, Sept 7 (Xinhua): Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a deal to acquire more than 84 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccines.

Morrison, Health Minister Greg Hunt, and Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, on Monday announced vaccine deals with the University of Queensland and Australian biotechnology company CSL, and also with the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

Under the deals, which are worth a combined 1.7 billion Australian dollars (1.2 billion U.S. dollars), Australia will receive the first doses of candidate vaccines being developed by the universities if trials prove successful.

"Australians will gain free access to a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 if trials prove successful," Morrison said in a statement on Monday.