What is happening at Scotland's Covid vaccine lab?
Biotech company Valneva is manufacturing a Covid-19 vaccine at its plant in West Lothian, which is currently going through clinical trials.
By Laura GoodwinBBC Scotland On Wednesday morning, the Valneva labs in Livingston were busy. Technicians in full protective gear were working across three different labs which we viewed through glass. I waved as we entered. They didn't wave back. Site manager Frances Muir said they are told not to wave. They have more important things on their hands, namely Valneva's coronavirus vaccine candidate. It is the only inactivated whole virus vaccine currently in trial phase in Europe. That means the virus is grown in the labs and then deactivated, made dead, so that it can't cause disease. Valneva say they expect to have results from their phase one and two trials within weeks. The UK government has already ordered 60 million doses for this year alone and potentially 40 million more beyond that. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the labs last month as commercial production started at the Livingston plant. Valneva say they don't know how many doses have been made so far as further trials will be needed to determine the dosage. From Livingston, they are taken for a process called fill and finish in Sweden. After that they are brought back via Northern Ireland and further, larger-scale trials will commence. It will not get approval until the end of the year so will not be used in the first vaccination programme which aims to have all adults in Scotland vaccinated with one dose by the summer. But potentially it could be used as an annual booster. Valneva say it may also be suitable for groups who currently are not being vaccinated for coronavirus, such as children.