Inside the new UK institute to fight future pandemics

The world’s first end-to-end pandemic institute is launching on Monday, 13 September in Liverpool, aimed at preventing, preparing and responding to future threats.

The centre, which brings together medical, academic and civic partnerships, hopes to speed up how quickly vaccines can be developed and rolled out.

“Whenever something is decided about a pandemic, it would have been better to have decided it earlier and speed really is of the essence,” Professor Matthew Bayliss, the institute’s director, tells broadcaster Al Jazeera.

The Pandemic Institute will be initially funded by £10m from Innova Medical Group, a provider of rapid antigen tests.