The US government will pay $ 2.1 billion to Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc for COVID-19 vaccines, Reuters reported.

This payment is the largest of all White House initiatives to accelerate access to vaccines and treatments to combat COVID-19.

The agreement will cost $ 42 per person vaccinated.

The Sanofi-GSK deal is for 100 million doses at two per person and gives the government the opportunity to purchase an additional 500 million doses at an unspecified price. Sanofi SA and GSK plan to begin clinical trials of the vaccine in September.

GSK said in a statement that more than half of the total funding will go towards further vaccine development, including clinical trials, and the remainder will be used to ramp up production and delivery of doses.