SASKATOON - The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is one step closer to establishing its Centre for Pandemic Research, thanks to a . . .
By Gord Wiebe
May 19, 2021 | 6:52 AM
The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan is one step closer to establishing its Centre for Pandemic Research, thanks to a $150,000 donation from Saskatchewan Blue Cross.
The money will be used to upgrade and expand VIDO’s infrastructure as well as support research and scientific training.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, VIDO has taken a national leadership role, being the first in Canada to isolate the virus that causes COVID-19, the first in Canada to develop an animal model, and the first Canadian university organization to have a COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials.
Saskatchewan seeks to build a containment level 4 lab to research pandemics February 25, 2021 by Brian Zinchuk
Regina – Vertical integration, where you control all aspects of your operation, is what Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) is aiming for in preparation for the next pandemic, as well as dealing with continuing variants of COVID-19.
If certain things had been in place, the University of Saskatchewan-based organization in Saskatoon could have started human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine six months earlier.
So Premier Scott Moe announced $15 million on Feb. 23 to assist VIDO in developing a new proposed Centre for Pandemic Research. He called upon the federal government to contribute a further $45 million to accomplish this goal, and broadly hinted that recent contact with the feds indicated that would be forthcoming.
Saskatchewan seeks to build a containment level 4 lab to research pandemics humboldtjournal.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from humboldtjournal.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The funds would support their new Centre for Pandemic Research. The province is also asking for $45 million in federal support in ongoing operational funding for the project. “This will not only serve Saskatchewan residents but it will serve all Canadians in research, development and ultimately the production of new vaccines,” Moe said. He said the funding will go to a level 4 containment facility, of which there is only one in Canada at this point, and greatly enhance VIDO-InterVac’s research and development capabilities. Moe said he and minister of export and trade Jeremy Harrison had written to and had conversations with senior federal ministers about the proposal as recently as the previous evening. Moe said he was hopeful and confident of federal support.