A new manufacturing centre in Oxfordshire is getting a multi-million-pound funding boost by the government to accelerate construction of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

When completed it will have the capacity to produce enough vaccine doses to serve the entire UK population in as little as 6 months.

The government funding will ensure the centre opens in summer 2021, a year ahead of schedule.

The centre is a key component of the governments coronavirus vaccine programme, ensuring that once a vaccine is available it can be mass produced and distributed quickly.

A further £38m is being invested in a rapid deployment facility which will be able to begin manufacturing at scale from this summer id a vaccine is available before the VMIC is complete.