French company Valneva has started commercial manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine in Scotland, the UK government announced on Thursday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a one-day visit to Scotland on Thursday, welcomed the “brilliant” news on Twitter, which he said would create 100 high-skilled jobs at the site in Livingston, West Lothian.
Valneva’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is currently undergoing trials and will need to receive regulatory approval before it is rolled out at the end of the year.
If the jab gets approved by UK regulators, the Livingston facility will be able to produce up to 250 million doses of the vaccine every year for shipment across the UK and around the world.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that, by starting manufacturing before regulatory approval, the UK “will have a running start at rolling these out as quickly as possible to protect the British public” once approval is obtained.
“This facility in Scotland, backed by millions from the Government, will help us beat coronavirus and boost our resilience against future pandemics,” he said in a statement.
“Set to deliver millions more jabs across all four nations, this is yet another fantastic example of the strength of our Union, as we work together as one United Kingdom to tackle the virus,” he said.
