Session 1D: Symposium: Pathogen outbreaks: Cause, spread and control

Chairperson: Saumitra Das

Progress And Pitfalls In Covid-19 Vaccine Development

The spread of COVID-19 has now become a health, humanitarian and economic crisis. There are over 200 vaccine candidate programmes. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) evolved from a multi-stakeholder effort following the West African outbreak of Ebola virus in 2013–2014. With SARS-CoV2 emerging, the platform technologies that CEPI had funded became the first response to develop vaccines. CEPI now works with the Gavi Alliance to lead the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. With the number of candidates, some of which are based on never before licensed technologies, the unknown threat of vaccine dependent disease enhancement, the lack of animal models, correlates of protection and assays, and the challenges of competing clinical trials, there are many challenges. The shortage of materials and the rise of vaccine nationalism are further barriers that lie in the way of the development and manufacture of vaccines.