WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A deal for hundreds of millions of syringes that could be used to quickly administer a possible vaccine against COVID-19 has been reached between the U.S. government and a private company.
The $138 million partnership is with ApiJect Systems America, which makes inexpensive prefilled plastic syringes designed to be used in developing countries, NBC News reported.
The aim of the Project Jumpstart initiative is to produce 100 million prefilled syringes by the end of 2020 and more than 500 million in 2021 if a vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, government officials said.
The project will “help significantly decrease the United States’ dependence on offshore supply chains and its reliance on older technologies with much longer production lead times,” said Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, NBC News reported.
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