Der Vertrag mit UK scheint mehr als ein unverbindlicher Vorvertrag zu sein. Offenbar fließt jedenfalls Geld, auch wenn die Entwicklung schiefgeht.

Der BBC schreibt darüber:

These have been paid for even though it is uncertain which, if any, of the vaccines may prove effective for immunising a nation with 66m people.

Kate Bingham, chairwoman of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, told the BBC: "What we are doing is identifying the most promising vaccines across the different categories, or different types of vaccine, so that we can be sure that we do have a vaccine in case one of those actually proves to be both safe and effective.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53469839