August 24, 2020
In this update, you’ll find links to two new AVAC resources designed to support advocacy and accountability in the context of the search for a COVID-19 vaccine, and a link to the recording and slides from our webinar on the COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline.
We have developed these new tools in the context of unprecedented public and media attention to vaccine research and development. Every day, scientists, researchers and politicians make bold predictions—sometimes backed up with significant financial resources—about moving research with extraordinary speed. Speed is essential, but must not come at the expense of ethics, safety, robust engagement, equitable access, and scientific rigor including independent peer and regulatory reviews.
AVAC’s new resources are designed to help advocates fact-check, counter-balance claims in the media and their communities, and accelerate accountability-oriented action where needed. These two fact sheets—the first of a series—provide an overview of the pipeline and a primer on the risks and benefits of expedited vaccine research.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Pipeline Cheatsheet – This two-pager offers advocates an at-a-glance view of the funders, platforms, research phase and considerations for some of the front-runner candidates.
- Advocates’ Guide: The risks and benefits of expedited COVID-19 vaccine research – This guide highlights the strategies being implemented to shorten the COVID-19 vaccine development timeline and the benefits, risks and key takeaways for each.
After reading and downloading these tools, we hope you will listen to an AVAC-hosted webinar presentation and discussion with Dr. Barney Graham, the Deputy Director of the NIH’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC). Dr. Graham reviewed the COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline and provided an update on the vaccine developed by Moderna and the NIH (mRNA-1273), which is currently being tested in a Phase III trial. Listen to the recording and download the slides here.