Key Takeaways:
- The next week will mark the official opening of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization’s (VIDO) brand-new manufacturing facility.
- The Canadian federal government gave the facility $46 million, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a visit there in May while in Saskatoon.
- VIDO received more than $6 million in private donations in addition to the $6 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
The brand-new manufacturing facility for the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) will debut the following week.
The building will be situated on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan.
It will have the ability to manufacture vaccinations, including one for COVID-19.
Researchers would be working with some of the most deadly viruses because the facility operates at Level 4.
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CEO Volker Gerdts claims that VIDO has been operating as a Level 3 facility for almost ten years.
“This alone would increase Canada’s research capacity level and help the nation be better equipped for any future developing disease,” the statement reads.
The lab has already conducted tests in Halifax and Uganda on a coronavirus vaccine that it is now developing.
The facility received $46 million from the federal government of Canada, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited it in May on a visit to Saskatoon.
He then expressed gratitude to VIDO on behalf of Canadians.
“You acted quickly when the pandemic struck, and everyone had to seek shelter. You put aside your ongoing research projects and obligations and concentrated on COVID-19 in extraordinary ways, making Canada the first country to sequence and isolate COVID-19, which allowed us to take immediate action, “Added Trudeau.
The municipal council of Saskatoon donated $200,000, and the province of Saskatchewan provided $15 million.
In addition to receiving $6 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, VIDO received more than $6 million in private donations.
On June 28, the facility will be formally opened by Gerdts, Premier Scott Moe, University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff, and Minister Responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada Daniel Vandal.
Source: CTV News
