Britain will buy potential Covid-19 vaccines from US drug makers Johnson & Johnson and Novavax Inc, boosting the number of deals it has with drug makers as the global vaccine race rages on, Reuters reports.

Britain and the United States are in the lead with six vaccine deals with drug makers each, as companies and governments worldwide work overtime to find a vaccine against the pandemic.

The latest agreements bring Britain’s total number of doses secured to 362 million for a population of 66 million, and Britain said both vaccines could be available by the middle of next year for priority groups, such as such as frontline health and social care workers, ethnic minorities, adults with serious diseases, and the elderly.