Ministers have opened a new vaccine research centre in the UK where scientists will work on preparing for “disease X”, the next potential pandemic pathogen.
The state-of-the-art Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre is based at the UK Health and Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Porton Down campus in Wiltshire.
Live viruses will be kept onsite in specialist containment facilities where scientists can assess pathogens that do not yet have a vaccine or ones where immunisation could be improved, for example, the flu or mpox.
Prof Dame Jenny Harries said: “What we’re trying to do now is capture that really excellent work from Covid and make sure we’re using that as we go forward for any new pandemic threats.”
She added: “What we try to do here is keep an eye on the ones that we do know. For example, with Covid, we are still here testing all the new variants with the vaccines that have been provided to check they are still effective.
“But we are also looking at how quickly we can develop a new test that would be used if a brand new virus popped up somewhere.”
The opening of the facility is announced after the Covid inquiry heard evidence that previous governments were ill prepared for a pandemic, with its plans focusing too much on the possibility of an influenza pandemic rather than other viruses. The former prime minister David Cameron had admitted this was a “mistake”.
Prof Isabel Oliver, UKHSA’s chief scientific officer, said: “We know that through scientific advancement, we could detect and control these spreads before they have the impact that Covid-19 had on our lives.
“It’s not easy, but we know that if we strengthen surveillance and if we accelerate the development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, we could do so much better.
“We need to be prepared for all threats, including those that have not been detected yet.” The government said the centre also underlined the UK’s commitment to the 100 Days Mission, a global goal set by the G7 in 2021 with the aim of deploying a vaccine against any new pandemic threat within 100 days of identification.
The health secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “This new centre cements the UK’s global position spearheading pandemic preparedness, vaccine development, and scientific discovery.
“This state-of-the-art complex will also help us deliver on our commitment to produce new vaccines within 100 days of a new threat being identified.”
