OMAHA - A company with manufacturing sites in Nebraska will play an important role in producing millions of needles and syringes needed to deliver vaccines for the coronavirus.

Medical technology company Becton Dickinson & Co. announced Wednesday that a partnership between the company and the federal government will pour $70 million into expanding operations and production lines at the company’s Nebraska facilities to make injection devices — the syringes, needles, cannulas and other components used for vaccines and other shots.

It’s still unclear how many new jobs, if any, the expansion will create. The arrangement will give the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, a direct and steady supply of the needles and syringes needed to carry out widespread vaccination programs.

BARDA has entered into similar contracts with vaccine makers and other companies as part of Operation Warp Speed, a Trump administration initiative designed to ramp up the manufacturing and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, treatments and medical supplies.

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