More than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries gathered on Friday (January 15) at a virtual forum hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that COVID causes. 19.
They discussed the safety and efficacy of existing vaccines and new candidates, ways to optimize the limited supply, and the need for additional safety studies.
“The development and approval of several safe and effective vaccines less than a year after this virus has been isolated and sequenced is an astonishing scientific achievement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director of WHO, in his opening speech. ‘The approval of the first vaccines does not mean that the work has been done. Far from it. More vaccines are in the pipeline, which need to be evaluated to ensure we have enough doses to vaccinate everyone. ”
More than 30 million doses of vaccine have been administered in 47 countries with mostly high incomes. But the global effects of vaccines have exposed striking inequalities in access to this life-saving tool.
“The spirit of collaboration must prevail in this challenging time as we try to understand this virus,” said Dr John Nkengasong, director of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “We need to be mindful of the inequalities and we need to deliberately promote investment in local capabilities to level the playing field and have meaningful cooperation to tackle the challenges.”
Experts agreed that critical research should be done on the administration of vaccines in different target populations, as well as on vaccination strategies and schedules. This includes trials, modeling and observational studies, all of which can help inform policy.
They discussed the impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants on vaccine efficacy, the impact of vaccines on the transmission of infection, and the need to develop next-generation vaccine platforms.
‘The world needs multiple vaccines that work in different populations to meet global demand and end the COVID-19 outbreak. Ideally, these would be single-dose vaccines that do not require a cold chain, that can be delivered without a needle and syringe, and that can be manufactured on a large scale, ‘says Professor Mike Levine, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a WTO host platform for global sharing and coordination of emerging vaccine research information on efficacy and safety. The forum will enable scientists to share and discuss unpublished and published data and research protocols to advance our collective understanding of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
“The WHO will regularly bring together experts from around the world, promote collaborative research, provide standard protocols and develop a platform to share the latest knowledge in the field,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s Chief Scientist.