Equitable access to vaccines against COVID-19

28 August 2020. Related: COVID-19: vaccine research, COVID-19.

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

In response to the inevitable limited vaccine supply a US project supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is posting a programme of webinars featuring presentations on access to successful vaccines. [1]

These are designed to help US policymakers and global health communities in planning for allocation of vaccines against COVID-19, but have relevance for wider viewing.

Co-Chaired by Helene Gayle several open meetings are already online.

The third meeting, held on 7 August 2020, included plans for distributing a vaccine to 300 million people in the US from January 2021 or earlier based on backing many approaches to vaccines already in large phase 3 studies (or about to start). These include mRNA vaccines (Moderna/NIH and Pfizer/BioNTech, non-replicating vectors (AstraZeneca/Oxford) and protein adjuvant (Novavox and Sanofi/GSK). Partners for a live attenuated vaccine have not yet been finalised.

This meeting included a presentation on WHO prioritisation and allocation of vaccines globally to low and middle-income countries. Another presentation looked at different prioritisation depend on whether aim is to reduce mortality or limit spread. Also models at vaccines where efficacy is lower for different age groups.

Reference

1. Committee on Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus
   https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/a-framework-for-equitable-allocation-of-vaccine-for-the-novel-coronavirus
2. Committee on Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus: Committee Meeting 3. (10 August 2020).
   https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/08-07-2020/committee-on-equitable-allocation-of-vaccine-for-the-novel-coronavirus-committee-meeting-3