ritain raced ahead in the battle to secure vaccine supplies by announcing bulk manufacturing of up to 60 million doses of a new jab.
French firm Valneva announced the start of large-scale commercial production at a plant in Livingston that has been upgraded with funds from UK taxpayers.
It indicates high confidence on both sides that the Valneva jab is in line for approval from official regulators in time for its planned distribution in early summer.
An extraordinary 7.2 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine in Britain so far. The new boost from a specialist French company will dismay the European Commission, which is under fire from member states for inadequately preparing for the world-wide scramble for vaccines.
The Commission was empty-handed last night after failing to persuade Oxford jab maker AstraZeneca to divert 70 million doses, purchased by and made in the UK, to EU countries.
Senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove was adamant that Britain’s contracts…
— to www.standard.co.uk
