COVID-19 Road to a vaccine
The year 2020 has seen the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID19), a unique and potentially devastating virus, with no known prevention or treatment. This new SARS-CoV-2 virus has shown to not only have significant international health implications, but also immense psychological and economic impacts. Associate Professor Nigel Crawford, a vaccinologist and consultant paediatrician at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) & Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, will delve into the global pursuit of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent COVID19. This is all occurring at ‘pandemic speed’ and MVEC’s new podcast will explore this complicated and multi-faceted process through interviews with a variety of national and international vaccine experts.
In the final episode of this podcast series our host, Associate Professor Nigel Crawford, speaks with Professor Walter Orenstein. Dr Orenstein is a Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health and Paediatrics at Emory University; Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and the Director of Emory Vaccine Policy and Development. An expert in vaccinology, Dr Orenstein has worked at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Director of the United States Immunisation Program and is a current member of several WHO groups. Further to this he is the co-editor of the vaccine textbook, Plotkin’s Vaccines, 7th edition. In this episode they discuss:
•Lessons that can be learnt from Plotkin’s Vaccines in the setting of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and development of vaccines
•Recent press releases showing promising early results from two mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna
•The critical role of ongoing monitoring for safety and effectiveness of vaccines once they are in use
•The likely highest priority groups when vaccines do become available
•The role of children in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and whether or not they need to be vaccinated
•The importance of a correlate of protection in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
•The need to monitor for vaccine associated enhanced disease (VAED)
•The importance of immunisation providers supporting reports of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI)
•The importance of communication in supporting vaccine acceptance and uptake
•Key next steps on the road to a COVID-19 vaccine: a better understanding of how many doses are required and when, a prioritisation process so the vaccines can be used most effectively (with a clear allocation system); and communicating to the public that social distancing and wearing a mask will be ongoing for some time as a level of normality won’t be reached immediately, even with the exciting new efficacious COVID-19 vaccines
Links:
Plotkin’s Vaccines, 7th ed
https://www.elsevier.com/books/T/A/9780323357616
Pfizer/BioNTech conclude phase 3 study of COVID-19 vaccine candidate, meeting all primary efficacy endpoints
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-conclude-phase-3-study-covid-19-vaccine
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate meets its primary efficacy endpoint in the first interim analysis of the phase 3 COVE study
https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/modernas-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-meets-its-primary-efficacy
PRESENTER
NIGEL CRAWFORD
Associate Professor Nigel Crawford
Director, Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre
A/Prof Crawford is a consultant paediatrician and vaccinologist. He is also Director of SAEFVIC based at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and Head of Immunisation Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH).
He is an expert in the vaccination of special risk groups, a member of ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Executive, Chair of ATAGI Subgroup #3 (Vaccine Safety, Evaluation & Confidence / Communication), Chair of ATAGI Meningococcal and Special Risk Working Groups on Immunisation, Chair of Vaccine Safety Committee (B Part of It NT study), and Member of SA Health Men B Vaccine Safety Advisory Board.