BD Receives Order from U.K. Government for 65 Million Injection Devices to Support COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

First Shipments of Injection Devices Already Arrived in U.K.

WINNERSH, England, July 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today announced the receipt of a large pandemic order from the U.K. government for 65 million needles and syringes to be delivered by mid-September 2020 to support the U.K. vaccination effort for COVID-19. The first shipments of the injection devices arrived in the U.K. on June 18 and provide the first element of the government's COVID-19 and flu response plan.

Mike Fairbourn, vice president and general manager of BD – U.K. and Ireland said, "With a 60-year history in vaccine delivery, BD is committed to producing 65 million high-quality vaccine injection devices to support the U.K. in planning for a COVID-19 vaccination campaign. BD applauds the U.K. government for its forward-thinking and coordinated approach in planning for future COVID-19 needs. This device selection will help ensure the maximum number of U.K. citizens get inoculated in the fastest possible timeframe. We thank the government for its partnership, and we look forward to continuing to work with all levels of government in the U.K., as we partner together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and support the re-setting of the National Health Service as core health care work resumes."

Recognising the need to prepare early, the U.K. is among the first governments in the world to secure vaccine injection devices in support of a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign. BD continues to advise governments around the world that the time to act on injection devices is now to prepare for when a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved and is widely available. While many annual vaccines come ready-to-deliver in prefilled syringes, due to the rapid ramp up in production and speed necessary to deploy the COVID-19 vaccination quickly, the new vaccine is anticipated to be made available initially in single or multidose vials, which require the use of separate needles and syringes to draw the vaccine from the vial and administer it to patients.