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UK pledges £29m more to fast-track vaccines against Covid variants

Money for Porton Down laboratory will help to ‘future-proof’ country, says Matt Hancock
The UK government is pledging extra money to fast-track vaccines in an effort to stay “one step ahead” of coronavirus variants.
The multimillion-pound investment in testing facilities at Porton Down in Wiltshire would help to “future-proof” the country, said the health secretary, Matt Hancock.
The government is pledging an additional £29.3m, on top of £19.7m already promised.
Scientists at the Porton Down research laboratory test blood samples to monitor the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines. Current testing capacity is 700 tests a week, but it is increasing to 1,500 by January 2022.
The extra funding would double the capacity for testing variant samples to 3,000 a week when work at the site was completed, said the Department of Health and Social Care.
“We’ve backed UK science from the very start of this pandemic and this multimillion-pound funding for a state-of-the-art vaccine testing facility at Porton Down will enable us to further future-proof the country from the threat of new variants,” said Hancock.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive at the UK Health Security Agency, said a new variant that could resist vaccines was the “greatest risk” of a third wave of the virus sweeping the country. “This new investment will help us stay one step ahead of the virus by doubling our capacity to test vaccine effectiveness against emerging variants,” she said.
The government is making plans for a booster Covid vaccine programme in the autumn, to protect the most vulnerable before winter, and last week ordered a further 60m doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said the UK was carrying out about 50% of the world’s genome sequencing of the virus and its mutations, and had done a deal with Germany’s CureVac to develop the next generation of vaccines targeting new emerging variants in the pandemic, which would include keeping a “library” of the virus.
“We need to make sure that we have vaccine variants that are ready for any virus variant that may escape,” Zahawi told Sky News. “The good news is the current vaccination programme and the vaccines we’re deploying are working effectively against the dominant virus in the United Kingdom.”
He added: “It’s all about making sure we back our scientists, we back Public Health England, we back the team of Porton Down who have done an amazing job throughout this pandemic.
“The principle of this is to future-proof the vaccination programme for the autumn, and then for years to come. Because as we move, hopefully from pandemic to endemic, this will be similar to the annual flu vaccination programme where the scientists will decide as they do it <…> which variants are the most concern and then we eventually formulate of a vaccine to deal with those.”
Zahawi said by the autumn over-50s could have booster shots against the coronavirus, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “You could have a shot in one arm for flu and the other for coronavirus.”
The Times reported on Wednesday that a third jab was to be offered to everyone over 50 in autumn, with trials of two options, supervised by Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, under way.
The first involves vaccines specifically modified to tackle new variants, while the second would involve a third shot of one of the three versions already in use: Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca or Moderna.
Zahawi said the government was to give experts “as many options as possible”, adding that vaccine manufacturing capacity would increase to about 600m doses a year by next year. This would include vaccines made in Livingston in West Lothian, Oxfordshire, Braintree and Stockton-on-Tees with the final “fill and finish” step at GlaxoSmithKline’s plant in Barnard Castle, County Durham.
source: Alexandra Topping
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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