Belinda Smith

How is it different?

So you've been using this cell-based method for a few years now, and the first cell-based vaccines were rolled out in 2021 in Australia.

So how does the cell-based system work and where are the cells from?

The cells came from a dog way back in the 1950s.

Dog kidney cells.

Why not use human cells?

I was going to say I could donate some cells if you needed some.

So you've got this new facility which has been open since the end of last year.

How quickly can that produce vaccines?

If there was a pandemic, I don't know, tomorrow, God forbid, how quickly could you turn around and start producing vaccines against a particular, just say it's a flu virus that becomes...

A pandemic.

How does that compare to if you had the egg-based way of making vaccines?

How much quicker is that?

So that's flu cell vax.

CSL Circus also makes Fluad, which is for older people.

Is that still made in eggs?

I noticed that two of the three flu strains in the egg-based and cell-based vaccines are the same, but one of the influenza A strains is different.

So it's a Singapore strain in the egg-based shots and Sydney strain in the cell-based shots.

Why is that?

Chris Larkins, Head of Operations at CSL Securus.