The government has obtained an additional 2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which trials show 95% effectiveness.

The announcement was made as The government appointed a ministerNazim Al-Zahawi is responsible for the national spread of punches.

Total number of Moderna vaccine doses on request From the American pharmaceutical company Now seven million – enough for 3.5 million people in the UK.

Doses of the vaccine can start in the spring, but have not yet been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Oxford and AstraZeneca Gap It could be rolled out within weeks if approved by the MHRA, with nearly 100 million doses in the UK having to be ordered.

There are also 40 million doses For Pfizer and Bio n Tech An on-demand vaccine, which has also been shown to be 95% effective.

Al-Zahawi, who is also a business minister, said he was “pleased” to be responsible for launching the vaccine when that happens.

“A huge responsibility and a huge operational challenge,” he wrote on Twitter, “but we are fully committed to making sure we can roll out vaccines quickly – to save lives and livelihoods.”

Kate Bingham, who heads the government’s Vaccine Task Force, said: “Since its inception in June, one of the most important stated goals of the Vaccine Task Force has been to secure access to promising vaccines through a wide range of technologies – thus increasing the chances of getting safe and effective prevention as quickly as possible against COVID-19.

“The Moderna vaccine has been an important addition to our portfolio, and securing an additional 2 million doses adds to the protection we can provide to the public to end the epidemic.”

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Every week we get more positive news about the batch of vaccines in development, and thanks to the work of our staff, the UK has already ordered hundreds of millions of doses from those companies that are more advanced in their work.

“With a wide range of candidate vaccines in our portfolio, we are ready to deploy one should they get approval from our drug regulator, starting with those who will benefit the most.”