In just a few years, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon will be able to house the most severe and contagious pathogens on the planet, as they are working on becoming a level-four containment facility, the highest level there is.

Director and CEO of VIDO, Dr. Volker Gerdts, says the timeline for both the laboratory upgrades, as well as the new animal housing facility, are expected to be complete by 2025, with work beginning in 2026. VIDO’s vaccine manufacturing facility is already complete and is being used to generate vaccines based on predictions of future Covid-19 mutations.
Gerdts says a level-four containment facility would allow us to be better prepared for future events such as the Covid-19 pandemic. He adds that if the citizens of Saskatoon have any concerns with this facility residing in their city, there is a committee which they can speak to. However, he reassures that the facility has been operational for a decade already, and no pathogens have been released into the city.

This upgrade would make saskatoon’s facility the second of its kind in Canada, and just one of several in North America.