DUBAI: Qatar has signed an agreement with drugmaker Moderna Inc to buy its potential Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it is approved and released for global use, state news agency QNA quoted a health official as saying on Sunday.

There are no internationally approved vaccines yet, but several are in advanced trials, including from Pfizer Inc , Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.

“Negotiating early and securing a number of agreements enhances our chances of getting sufficient quantities of the vaccine early,” said Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of a national Covid-19 health group and head of infectious diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation.

He did not say how many doses Doha was requesting. Earlier this month, al-Khal said Qatar signed an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to supply Qatar with their vaccines.