IET: Why we need engineers in vaccine manufacturing?

If we ask you who makes vaccines what would you answer? Most answers would include Scientists (people in white coats working in research labs), clinicians, clinical trial volunteers and even financiers. Very few people ever include engineers. But think about that for a moment. Yes, a vaccine is discovered in the lab and used in the clinic. But for it to be useful to society it must be manufactured at large scale and at an affordable cost and able to be distributed wherever is needed. The most effective vaccine is of no use if this cannot be done. This is where engineers (Biochemical engineers), scientists, clinicians and policy makers must work together to take vaccines from the laboratory through large scale manufacture, and out to real world practical use.