Coordinated strategy to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine is needed, top researchers say
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A harmonized and collaborative approach to the clinical testing, scale-up and distribution of candidate vaccines to prevent COVID-19 is essential, top scientific leaders write in a perspective published today in Science.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, government, industry and academia have introduced a variety of vaccine candidates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The authors note in their piece that more than one effective vaccine approach likely will be required to successfully protect the global community from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They advocate for a strategic approach to research and development that would generate crucial data for multiple vaccine candidates simultaneously.
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The scientists -- who include NIH Director Francis Collins and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci -- also say that no single vaccine or vaccine platform is likely to meet the worldwide need, emphasizing the need for a coordinated and strategic approach to vaccine development.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Developing COVID-19 vaccines will require unprecedented cooperation from governments, academic institutions, industry, and global philanthropic partners, they write.
Researchers need to learn more about what constitutes a durable protective immune response against COVID-19, scientists write. They also explain that trials for several candidate vaccines could be conducted in parallel to generate essential safety and efficacy data and accelerate the timeline of COVID-19 vaccines.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The authors propose specific approaches to harmonizing the clinical testing of multiple vaccine products, including using common clinical trials designs, clinical endpoints, standardized immune assays and a common Data Safety and Monitoring Board.
As of Monday evening, there were at least 1,344,512 infected and 80,087 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States.