London, Aug 7 (EFE).- The British Government unveiled this Monday a new facility located in the county of Wiltshire, southern England, dedicated to researching next-generation vaccines, in order to guarantee that future pandemics do not cause the same disruption of life like that of covid-19.
This is the so-called Vaccine Evaluation and Development Center (VDEC), which is on the grounds of the United Kingdom Health and Safety Agency (UKHSA) in the town of Porton Down, near Salisbury ( Wiltshire).
According to details released today, live viruses will be kept in containment facilities and researchers will test for pathogens that do not yet have a vaccine, or those for which immunization could be improved, such as influenza.
Specific diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), will also be investigated while phase one clinical trials are currently underway on a potential first global injection against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a tick-borne virus, which is very serious in a 30% of the cases.
UKHSA chief executive Jenny Harries said what they are trying to do is learn from the problems of covid-19 in order to prepare the country for any new pandemic.
This preparation is known after it came to light that previous governments had focused too much on preparing for a flu pandemic instead of other types of pathogens. EFE
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2023-08-07 07:05:00
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