Safety & Security

The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organiation (VIDO) is a secure facility regulated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the University of Saskatchewan. We are committed to meeting and exceeding all regulatory requirements to ensure the protection of our research team and surrounding community.

Containment levels:

VIDO operates as a containment level 2 (CL2) and 3 (CL3) research facility. Containment levels relate to the safety measures and equipment required to handle infectious diseases safely in laboratory settings. Levels range from 1 to 4, with 4 requiring the greatest precautions to alleviate risk. Containment Level 2 and 3 are equivalent to biosafety levels 2 and 3 in the United States and Europe.

In order to meet government standards for CL2 and CL3 laboratories, VIDO has implemented the following:

• State-of-the-art safety equipment, and specially engineered building features to protect employees and the surrounding community from exposure to infectious agents
• Stringent standard operating procedures and employee training to ensure safe handling of infectious diseases
• Controlled and restricted facility access that may including Facility Access Screening