A Covid-19 vaccine developed in Scotland but abandoned by Boris Johnson could beat Omicron.The UK Government is facing furious demands to reinstate a £1billion contract with Livingston-based Valneva to buy 100million doses of its drug.
Its jab – codenamed VLA2001 – works differently to the vaccine currently on the market as it targets entire virus cells rather than just individual spike proteins.
It is those spike proteins which have mutated in Omicron, sparking fears existing vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna may be rendered ineffective.
Professor Hugh Pennington, an emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, last night questioned whether “politics” lurks behind the decision to ditch the firm’s deal.When Johnson visited