The government is to spend almost £100m to accelerate the construction of a vaccine manufacturing centre which could produce doses for the whole UK within six months, once an effective inoculation for coronavirus is found.
The centre is already under construction at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, but the injection of up to £93m additional cash should bring its opening date forward by 12 months to next summer, said business secretary Alok Sharma.
Mr Sharma also announced a £38m investment in a rapid deployment facility to be prepared to begin manufacturing at scale this summer, to support efforts to make any Covid-19 vaccine available to the public as soon as possible. The cash brings the total public and private sector funding for the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) to £207m.
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“As the biggest contributor to the international coalition to find a vaccine, the UK is leading the global response,” said the business secretary. “Once a breakthrough is made, we need to be ready to manufacture a vaccine by the millions.
“The new Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre and temporary facility will build ‘fill and finish’ capacity, bringing the UK vaccine programme together from discovery to distribution.”


1/23
Nancy Pedroza, 27, who is pregnant, sits next to Ryan Morgan, 30, her partner and father to their unborn child, as they relax at Pedroza’s parent’s house, where they currently live, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Fort Worth, Texas
REUTERS

2/23
Nancy Pedroza attends an appointment with her licensed midwives Susan Taylor, 40, who checks her stomach, and Amanda Prouty, 39, in Taylor’s home office at her house
REUTERS

3/23
Nancy takes a brisk walk to try and speed up her contractions, with Ryan and her licensed midwives near Taylor’s home where Pedroza plans to give birth
REUTERS

4/23
Nancy receives support from Nichollette Jones, her doula
REUTERS

5/23
Nancy experiences contractions
REUTERS

6/23
Nancy is supported by Ryan and Nichollette as she experiences contractions while laboring at the home of Pedroza’s licensed midwife, Susan Taylor
REUTERS

7/23
Nancy lies on a bed in front of Ryan as he helps to pump her breastmilk to try and speed up her contractions
REUTERS

8/23
Nancy experiences contractions as Susan lies on a bed
REUTERS

9/23
Nancy holds hands with Nichollette and Ryan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub
REUTERS

10/23
Nancy embraces Ryan
REUTERS

11/23
Nancy is supported by Ryan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub
REUTERS

12/23
Nancy experiences contractions
REUTERS

13/23
Nancy in a birthing tub
REUTERS

14/23
Nancy is placed onto an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics, after her unborn child’s heart beat dropped from 130 beats per minute to 30
REUTERS

15/23
Nancy is carried on an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics
REUTERS

16/23
Nancy is carried into an ambulance on a stretcher
REUTERS

17/23
Nancy holds her one-day old newborn son, Kai Rohan Morgan
REUTERS

18/23
Nancy breastfeeds her newborn son at the house of her parents, where they are currently living
REUTERS

19/23
Susan Taylor positions Kai for a photograph at his newborn screening
REUTERS

20/23
Amanda Prouty and Susan Taylor conduct a newborn screening for Kai at Kai’s maternal grandparent’s house
REUTERS

21/23
Susan takes two-day old Kai’s temperature while checking if he has tongue tie, an oral condition that can potentially cause issues with feeding
REUTERS

22/23
Nancy and Ryan clip the fingernails of their two-day old son
REUTERS

23/23
Kai, who is two-days old and is experiencing jaundice, is positioned in the sunlight by his mother Nancy
REUTERS

1/23
Nancy Pedroza, 27, who is pregnant, sits next to Ryan Morgan, 30, her partner and father to their unborn child, as they relax at Pedroza’s parent’s house, where they currently live, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Fort Worth, Texas
REUTERS

2/23
Nancy Pedroza attends an appointment with her licensed midwives Susan Taylor, 40, who checks her stomach, and Amanda Prouty, 39, in Taylor’s home office at her house
REUTERS

3/23
Nancy takes a brisk walk to try and speed up her contractions, with Ryan and her licensed midwives near Taylor’s home where Pedroza plans to give birth
REUTERS

4/23
Nancy receives support from Nichollette Jones, her doula
REUTERS

5/23
Nancy experiences contractions
REUTERS

6/23
Nancy is supported by Ryan and Nichollette as she experiences contractions while laboring at the home of Pedroza’s licensed midwife, Susan Taylor
REUTERS

7/23
Nancy lies on a bed in front of Ryan as he helps to pump her breastmilk to try and speed up her contractions
REUTERS

8/23
Nancy experiences contractions as Susan lies on a bed
REUTERS

9/23
Nancy holds hands with Nichollette and Ryan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub
REUTERS

10/23
Nancy embraces Ryan
REUTERS

11/23
Nancy is supported by Ryan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub
REUTERS

12/23
Nancy experiences contractions
REUTERS

13/23
Nancy in a birthing tub
REUTERS

14/23
Nancy is placed onto an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics, after her unborn child’s heart beat dropped from 130 beats per minute to 30
REUTERS

15/23
Nancy is carried on an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics
REUTERS

16/23
Nancy is carried into an ambulance on a stretcher
REUTERS

17/23
Nancy holds her one-day old newborn son, Kai Rohan Morgan
REUTERS

18/23
Nancy breastfeeds her newborn son at the house of her parents, where they are currently living
REUTERS

19/23
Susan Taylor positions Kai for a photograph at his newborn screening
REUTERS

20/23
Amanda Prouty and Susan Taylor conduct a newborn screening for Kai at Kai’s maternal grandparent’s house
REUTERS

21/23
Susan takes two-day old Kai’s temperature while checking if he has tongue tie, an oral condition that can potentially cause issues with feeding
REUTERS

22/23
Nancy and Ryan clip the fingernails of their two-day old son
REUTERS

23/23
Kai, who is two-days old and is experiencing jaundice, is positioned in the sunlight by his mother Nancy
REUTERS
The Oxfordshire centre will be the UK’s first not-for-profit organisation for the mass production of vaccines and is intended to boost the national capacity to develop and produce inoculations for existing illnesses such as the flu virus.
VMIC chief executive Dr Matthew Duchars said: “Today’s announcement by the business secretary is an important endorsement for the work the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre will deliver in shoring up future domestic supply of vaccines in response to a pandemic.
“This investment will rapidly accelerate the construction of the facility, enabling us to bring it online a year sooner. In addition, the capacity will be significantly increased, so that enough vaccines could be made for everyone in the UK within a matter of months of opening.”
The chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, Sir Mark Walport, said the centre would be “an essential new weapon in the UK’s arsenal against diseases and other biological threats, ensuring sufficient vaccines get to the public in the fastest possible time”.
He added: “The UKRI-funded teams at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London have developed potential coronavirus vaccines at unprecedented speed. By working with partners including government, VMIC and the Vaccines Taskforce to fast-track the manufacturing capability, we are ensuring that momentum will continue all the way from lab to patient.”
The government is the largest national donor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), with a gift of £250m as part of a total £388m contribution to the global hunt for a vaccine. It will host a global pledging conference for the vaccine alliance Gavi on 4 June.