• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE TO BYLINES SCOTLAND
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Bylines Scotland
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
    • Europe
    • King Charles III
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • Scotland
    • War in Ukraine
    • World
    Scotland's Pro-EU

    Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

    Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

    Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

    Portrait of Humza Yousaf

    Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

    Media distortion

    Truth and Trust

    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Health service

    Funding the Scottish Health Service 

    Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

    Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

    Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

    Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

    BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

    The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

    Trending Tags

    • Democracy
    • Devolution
    • Brexit
    • Ukraine
  • Politics
    • All
    • Council Areas
    • Europe
    • Holyrood
    • Liz Truss
    • Rest of UK
    • Tories
    • United Kingdom
    • Westminster
    • World
    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

    Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

    blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

    Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

    A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

    Is Alister Jack sane?

    Image Malcom Laverty

    The Brown plan

    The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

    Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

    The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

    Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

    Trending Tags

    • Equality
    • Johnson
    • Scottish National Party
  • Business
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Corporations
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Fishing
    • Natural Resources
    • Shipbuilding
    • Trade
    • Transport
    • Workers
    Fish farm in Scotland

    A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

    Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

    How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

    Dead salmons

    Death in our waters

    Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

    Fish Farming in Scotland 

    Offshore wind farm

    How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

    Broadband optic fibres

    Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

    A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

    Saving Scotland’s tenements

    A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

    Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

    large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

    Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

    Trending Tags

    • Health
      • All
      • Assisted dying
      • Covid
      • Influenza
      • Polio virus
      • Respiratory
      • Scientific Research
      Tree representing lungs

      Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

      Health service

      Funding the Scottish Health Service 

      A goose surrounded by avian flu

      Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

      A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

      The Ethiopia Medical Project

      Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

      “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

      Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

      Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

      A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

      Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

      Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

      GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

      Trending Tags

      • Environment
        • All
        • Air Pollution
        • Biology
        • Climate Change
        • Wildfires
        Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

        Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

        Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

        When smoke gets in your eyes

        Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

        COP27 and the inconvenient truth

        Viscum album in trees

        Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

        Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

        Scotland's mountain footpaths

        How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

        climate science

        PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

        Trending Tags

        • Opinion
        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
          • Europe
          • King Charles III
          • Queen Elizabeth II
          • Scotland
          • War in Ukraine
          • World
          Scotland's Pro-EU

          Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

          Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

          Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

          Portrait of Humza Yousaf

          Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

          Media distortion

          Truth and Trust

          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Health service

          Funding the Scottish Health Service 

          Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

          Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

          Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

          Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

          BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

          The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

          Trending Tags

          • Democracy
          • Devolution
          • Brexit
          • Ukraine
        • Politics
          • All
          • Council Areas
          • Europe
          • Holyrood
          • Liz Truss
          • Rest of UK
          • Tories
          • United Kingdom
          • Westminster
          • World
          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

          Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

          blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

          Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

          A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

          Is Alister Jack sane?

          Image Malcom Laverty

          The Brown plan

          The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

          Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

          The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

          Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

          Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

          Trending Tags

          • Equality
          • Johnson
          • Scottish National Party
        • Business
          • All
          • Agriculture
          • Aviation
          • Corporations
          • Energy
          • Finance
          • Fishing
          • Natural Resources
          • Shipbuilding
          • Trade
          • Transport
          • Workers
          Fish farm in Scotland

          A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

          Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

          How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

          Dead salmons

          Death in our waters

          Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

          Fish Farming in Scotland 

          Offshore wind farm

          How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

          Broadband optic fibres

          Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

          A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

          Saving Scotland’s tenements

          A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

          Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

          large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

          Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

          Trending Tags

          • Health
            • All
            • Assisted dying
            • Covid
            • Influenza
            • Polio virus
            • Respiratory
            • Scientific Research
            Tree representing lungs

            Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

            Health service

            Funding the Scottish Health Service 

            A goose surrounded by avian flu

            Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

            A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

            The Ethiopia Medical Project

            Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

            “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

            Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

            Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

            A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

            Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

            Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

            GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

            Trending Tags

            • Environment
              • All
              • Air Pollution
              • Biology
              • Climate Change
              • Wildfires
              Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

              Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

              Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

              When smoke gets in your eyes

              Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

              COP27 and the inconvenient truth

              Viscum album in trees

              Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

              Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

              Scotland's mountain footpaths

              How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

              climate science

              PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

              Trending Tags

              • Opinion
              No Result
              View All Result
              Bylines Scotland
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home Science & Tech

              Vaccine deficits – Are regional hubs the solution?

              Lynne presents the economic and environmental benefits of a new platform to vaccine manufacture and distribution.

              Lynne CoplandbyLynne Copland
              10-02-2023 07:00
              in Science & Tech
              Vaccine vials in a hub

              Image by hakan german from Pixabay

              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

              When we talk about deficits, most people involved in party politics think of democratic deficits or economic deficits particularly in relation to money supply. Rarely does anyone talk about vaccine deficits, which is remarkable when one considers the devastation that could be wrought on a population by a shortage in vaccine supply.

              Significant disparities in the access to Covid vaccines across different geographic and demographic populations have been highlighted because of the pandemic. We are now painfully aware that vaccines are critical for disease prevention and have significant social value. It should not be forgotten in our quest to produce enough Covid vaccines for all, that the level of manufacture of vaccines for childhood and young adult vaccine programmes also needs to be maintained during a pandemic, and that vaccine manufacturing platforms can also be used to produce animal vaccines, should the need arise.

              Investment in vaccine hubs correlates with a healthier Scottish economy

              Vaccine production is a vital component in improving the health of a country and improving health outcomes for everyone, not just of benefit to individuals but also globally. Investment in vaccines will improve the health of the Scottish economy to everyone’s advantage, with a fairer share of any profit being reinvested in the maintenance of regional hubs and associated employment opportunities and training.

              Jane Byrne of Biopharma, highlighted this while researching expert opinion on vaccine production, stating that “vaccine production is suboptimal for economies of scale and requires a different model.”

              Indeed, Prof Devi Sridhar of Edinburgh University suggested that if lessons were to have been learned from the pandemic, that it wasn’t enough to develop Covid vaccines but that “countries will also need to think critically about their manufacturing capacity, and coordinate with other governments to create REGIONAL HUBS that allow for mass vaccine production and delivery.”

              The traditional approach of vaccine manufacturers and those attracted by free market principles has been to ‘scale up’ production, which uses traditional engineering and scientific skill sets. This has its downsides. 

              A ‘free market economy’ does not necessarily support a well-being economy – a well being economy that the SNP Scottish Government has pledged to support and promote. The industries reliance on single source suppliers for equipment, precursor chemicals, consumables and other vaccine ingredients can impact output and profit margins.

              If Scotland is to remain at the forefront of Biosciences, we need to get ahead of the game. Why are we using a template for vaccine provision that experts are now stating, it is struggling to remain viable and where large companies are withdrawing from the market altogether? Or is it because of the lack Covid vaccine manufacturers are having to draw up collaborative contracts in order to meet demand? Reduction in the number of vaccine manufacturing companies producing childhood and young adult vaccines is widespread eg.in the US 80% of vaccines are manufactured by just 5 companies ( down from 25. ) This should have set off alarm bells.

              In Scotland we have one major manufacturing facility in Livingston. A facility opened by Glaxo in Montrose to produce a vaccine ingredient was closed and the project abandoned. We are therefore, heavily reliant on importing vaccines.

              So what’s the alternative to the traditional approach of ‘scaling up’ ? The answer has been proposed by some who are part of the existing bioscience community, who refer to a new innovative platform for vaccine production as ‘scaling out’; i.e. distributing production and associated supply companies over a wider geographical area, creating regional hubs. This ‘scaling out’ approach would create much needed well paid jobs for our young people ( particularly in rural areas), whose scientific & technical skills are more applicable to ‘digital biology’; i.e. their skill set is more geared towards IT and automation than traditional microbiology. This would also produce a return for the public investment in their training and education.

              In order to ‘scale out’ vaccine production a new manufacturing platform is needed and data has already been produced that suggests that regional hubs actually could be more of a money spinner than larger traditional vaccine operations. Vaccines currently make less profit for large pharma companies than drug manufacture, and much of the ‘seed’ money for current pharma companies comes from the ‘public purse’, through government spending.

              Illustration by the author
              Health

              Polio vaccines: two sides of the same coin

              byDr Patricia S Paton
              18 September 2022

              A new climate friendly platform: regional hubs alongside biofoundaries

              Distribution manufacturing coupled with highly automated vaccine manufacturing hubs, sometimes referred to as biofoundaries, could provide this new platform. Biofoundaries are highly automated manufacturing units, which can communicate digitally and transfer data across a wide geographical area, and are particularly suited to small scale manufacture, often with the added bonus of reduced wastage.

              Scotland could emulate Germany, by establishing biofoundaries in electric powered mobile units, which could be used in more remote areas such as the islands. These smaller units manufacturing and delivering ‘just enough’ vaccine to an area of smaller population, would not only be more environmentally friendly, they would be more economical. In the case of an isolated outbreak of disease, regional hubs/ biofoundaries would  nullify the need to stockpile or incur unnecessary waste.

              Whilst we are as a nation, constantly striving to achieve climate change targets, we should consider that pharmaceutical industries have a greater impact on the environment than that of the automotive industry globally. Regional hubs providing easier local access would have shorter supply chains, there would be less reliance on other countries and the environmental impact would be significantly reduced.

              The issue around vaccine nationalism which we are seeing played out globally; e.g. In the U.S. and India pose a significant threat to non producing countries or countries which do not currently have the sufficient manufacturing capacity. Scotland could be a potential victim to vaccine nationalism with de facto export bans being imposed by countries such as India, as we have had to import vaccines manufactured there. Reported material shortages affecting production and pressures associated with the need to negotiate global supply agreements add to fears of interruptions in supply.

              Maintaining strict quality standards and accredited testing protocols are difficult to manage when ‘scaling up’ but with ‘scaling out’ these elements of vaccine production are less problematic, because batch data, complex workflows and the entire production process can be monitored continuously and recorded at an individual biofoundary, and also at a country wide level, increasing reproducibility and consistency of the vaccine produced.

              In considering what kind of future we want to look forward to in an Independent Scotland as we transition, we need to learn the lessons of this past year and ensure that the democratic and economic deficits are not the only ones which we need to address. After all, if a vaccine deficit persists, the democratic and economic deficits will not be the only ones that will look unhealthy or potentially cause irreparable damage.


              We need your help! The press in our country is dominated by billionaire-owned media, many offshore and avoiding paying tax. We are a citizen journalism publication but still have significant costs. If you believe in what we do, please consider subscribing to the Bylines Gazette 🙏

              Tags: vaccines
              Previous Post

              Advantages of a Scottish Pound

              Next Post

              Finding Grandpapa Renfrew

              Lynne Copland

              Lynne Copland

              Scientist - Histology, Electron Microscopy, Microbiology, Biotechnology. BSc. Microbiology , MSc. In Research Thesis -“Isolation, Characterisation and Application of Biosurfactants" (Enhanced Oil Recovery ) Other interests - Climate & Environment Member of the Scottish Currency Group

              Related Posts

              Science & Tech

              The methods of Russian interference in Scottish politics

              byGeorge Allison
              27 December 2022
              Stars forming in the Carina Nebula about 8,500 light-years from Earth. Photo courtesy of NASA taken from the James Webb Space Telescope
              Opinion

              Don’t be afraid, but humanity could be the seed of the universe

              byAshley Black
              30 August 2022
              Next Post
              Sketch of a town on a river edge

              Finding Grandpapa Renfrew

              PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

              Subscribe to our newsletters
              CHOOSE YOUR NEWS
              Follow us on social media
              CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
              Download our app
              ALL OF BYLINES IN ONE PLACE
              Subscribe to our gazette
              CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY
              Make a monthly or one-off donation
              DONATE NOW
              Help us with our hosting costs
              SIGN UP TO SITEGROUND
              We are always looking for citizen journalists
              WRITE FOR US
              Volunteer as an editor, in a technical role, or on social media
              VOLUNTEER FOR US
              Something else?
              GET IN TOUCH
              Previous
              Next

              LATEST

              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Scotland's Pro-EU

              Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

              20 March 2023
              Illustration for Arts and Entertainment

              Scottish Opera’s sensational new Puccini production has it all – love, death and laughter

              18 March 2023

              MOST READ

              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking at 2022 special meeting of the North Atlantic Council and G7 leaders meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels during the Ukraine situation. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0

              Boris Johnson; Britain’s worst ever prime minister?

              6 September 2022
              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

              Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

              14 January 2023

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Brexit Christmas ClimateChange Covid Covid19 Culture Defence Democracy Devolution FishFarms Glasgow Halloween health History Holyrood independence IndyRef2 Johnson Journalism Liz Truss Long Covid Monarchy nationalism NATO NHS Nicola Sturgeon politics Poverty Pro-EU Public Health Putin Russia Sars-CoV-2 Scotland Security Security and Defence shipbuilding SNP Sunak Tories Tourism Twitter Ukraine UK Supreme Court War in Ukraine
              Bylines Scotland

              We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Scotland and beyond.

              Bylines Scotland is a trading brand of Bylines Network Limited, which is a sister organisation to Byline Times.

              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Network
              • About
              • Authors
              • Contact
              • Donate
              • Privacy

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Scotland
                • World
              • Politics
                • Council Areas
                • Europe
                • Holyrood
                • Rest of UK
                • Westminster
              • Business
                • Fishing
                • Trade
                • Transport
              • Health
              • Environment
                • Climate Change
              • Opinion
              • Donate
              CROWDFUNDER

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In