The UK government announced on 8 October 2026 that £33.2 million would fund eight vaccine projects targeting diseases including Ebola, plague, Marburg, Lassa fever, Nipah virus, chikungunya and Mayaro. The Department of Health and Social Care said the awards, delivered through the UK Vaccine Network and Innovate UK, were intended to build capability to develop, test and deploy vaccines at speed. Five of the projects would be funded through official development assistance.

The department said the programme had previously supported development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and that the new awards would also aim to make vaccines affordable and accessible in countries at greatest risk. It cited an average Ebola case-fatality rate of around 50% and said no approved Marburg vaccine or antiviral treatment exists.

Health Minister Chris McDonald said the world remains at risk from new and re-emerging infectious diseases. Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Sir Chris Whitty said the projects aim to prevent some of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases.